Defence Minister Says Canadian Armed Forces Have ‘Some Work to Do’ on Military Readiness

National Defence Minister Bill Blair speaks to reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 6, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

The Canadian Armed Forces continue to face combat readiness issues because enlistment has not been “sufficient,” says Defence Minister Bill Blair.

“My assessment is that we’ve got some work to do. Right now we have a number of challenges,” Mr. Blair said during a March 4 press conference in Edmonton.

“There is no more important investment that we can make than to build up the strength of our armed forces through attracting personnel... with new skills to come and join the remarkable people that are currently serving.”

Mr. Blair said the CAF had made changes in 2022 to allow permanent residents to apply for enlistment, but its efforts to “get those people onboarded into the Canadian Armed Forces have not been sufficient, and we need to do more.”

The CAF received a total of 21,472 permanent resident applications between Nov. 1 2022 and Nov. 24, 2023, but just 77 applications had been successful, according to a December 2023 briefing note.

The CAF needs to help Canadians understand why serving is a “brilliant career opportunity for them,” Mr. Blair said, adding that the force must also ensure it has the best equipment, facilities, and supports.

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The defence minister’s comments came after a recently released Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) department plan showed only 61 percent of the force was ready for operations in financial year 2022-2023, down 10 percent from the previous year. The department plan said it was imperative the defence team fix the force’s decades-long readiness challenges, including low serviceability rates, deteriorating infrastructure, weak supply chains, and outdated personnel management and administrative processes.

The military’s regular force has shrunk by 4,100 members since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while primary reserves fell by 950, the report showed. The CAF said recruiting efforts, “which were challenged before the pandemic,” have been at roughly one-third of their normal intake due to pandemic-era restrictions.

$79 Million Re-Allocated

Personnel issues come at a time when the Liberal government announced its plans to cut roughly $1 billion from the defence department’s annual budget last September. Treasury Board President Anita Anand told other federal cabinet ministers last August they would also need to reallocate $15.4 billion in government spending.

Mr. Blair was asked about the recent budget estimates for 2024 to 2025, which showed $79 million would be reallocated out of Ready Forces. He said Canada committed in 2017 to nearly doubling its defence budget by 2026, and said the country was still on a “very positive upward trajectory of spending in defence.”

Former Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in 2017 that defence spending would jump from $18.9 billion to $32.7 billion in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Canada’s defence spending from 2024 to 2025 is estimated to be $30.5 billion.

Dealing with a $79 million reallocation meant asking the department to look at cutting expenses on consultants, executive travel, and professional services, Mr. Blair said. While he described some professional services as “absolutely essential,” particularly around the navy, he said it was important to “spend those valuable dollars to get the most public value for the Canadian Armed Forces and for Canada.”