After nearly two weeks at the helm of the Canadian contingent, Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant says he is more certain than ever that they are needed in Afghanistan.

"Having had the chance to go out and speak to some of the local Afghan leaders... boy are we ever needed over here," Grant told CTV Canada AM's Seamus O'Regan in Afghanistan on Friday.

Earlier this month, Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser handed command of southern Afghanistan to the Dutch after a tough nine-month mission and Grant took control of the Canadians.

The emerging goal is to hold hard-won former Taliban ground while doing more to win lasting Afghan support.

Grant said he has seen indications that the Afghans are taking ownership of reconstruction efforts.

"We're helping them with money, with expertise, but they are trying to really improve their lives and they acknowledge on a daily basis not only the contribution that Canada is making but the sacrifices we've made with soldiers who have been killed and injured here," Grant said.

"And they're truly thankful for what we're doing."

It is important to gain the trust of the local population by building relationships, said Lt.-Col. Simon Hetherington, commander of the Provincial Reconstruction Team.

Whether this involves sitting in a meeting, called a shura, or lunching with local leaders, it is important to reach out to Afghans and find out their needs, he said.

"That's where we would then step up and take that answer and work with the government to try and provide that. So building relationships is what it's all about," Hetherington said.

It can be difficult work for Canadian troops, some who are deployed in volatile regions of Afghanistan for as long as two months.

"(They are) basically without running water, without the access to a shower, and eating hard rations. It is a hard life that they're leading," Grant said.

"We try and rotate them in and out, but at the end of the day, they are in very difficult conditions. They are in contact with the Taliban on a regular basis. It's a hard life."

Despite demanding living conditions, they are a tight-knit group, Grant said.

"Whether they're from Edmonton, Shilo, Petawawa or anywhere else across the country, they come together here and they do outstanding work, and they seem to be pretty happy."

Grant agrees with his predecessor's assertions that it is important to succeed in Afghanistan to prevent further losses of life.

"I agree that we have to make Afghanistan a stable and democratic country, one that can defend itself, and ensure that there is not the ground here, the fertile ground for terrorist organizations to operate," he said.

"So from that standpoint, we can fight them here or we can wait later and fight them at home, and I would rather do it here."