Defence Minister Scales Back Military Recruitment Optimism, Says Challenge Persists

Minister of National Defence Bill Blair prepares to appear before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 24, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Defence Minister Bill Blair has rolled back previous comments that the Canadian military had finally stopped losing more soldiers than it recruits.

“Unfortunately, I want to report to this committee, because it’s important that we be candid, that [recruitment and retention] continues to persist as a challenge for us,” Mr. Blair told the House of Commons defence committee on Nov. 23.

At a previous appearance before the committee on Sept. 28, the minister said the trend of attrition outpacing recruitment had been “reversed.”

“The number of people joining is now exceeding for the first time in nearly three years the attrition, the people that are leaving, and that is good news,” he said.

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre had also mentioned during that committee meeting he was “cautiously optimistic” given the attrition rate was back within historic norms.

Gen. Eyre said the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was short nearly 16,000 soldiers as of Aug. 31 and that more than 10,000 were in the training pipeline and not operational.

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Department of National Defence data subsequently obtained by The Epoch Times showed that the trend has not been reversed in 2023, with more soldiers still leaving the ranks than new recruits joining.

From January to September, the CAF saw a net loss of 380 personnel in the Regular Force, excluding transfers to or from the Primary Reserve, and a cumulative net loss of 321.

August, the month before Mr. Blair spoke at committee, showed some promise, with a positive net change of 253, but it was only one of three months with positive numbers. September posted a loss of 123.

“We believed—and the general shared with us that [belief]—we believed we'd reached the bottom of that and that we were turning the page and starting to move forward,” Mr. Blair told MPs on Nov. 23.

Conservative MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman asked the minister why personnel issues continue to worsen.

“I think there are a number of reasons why in the aftermath of the pandemic, and a number of other factors,” Mr. Blair said, adding that countries like the United States are facing a similar situation.

Releases reached high levels during the last three years, compelling Gen. Eyre to call a pause to all non-essential activities in Oct. 2022 to allow for force reconstitution.

Hundreds of soldiers were discharged or voluntarily released in direct response to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate imposed by the Chief of the Defence Staff, which a non-binding administrative military tribunal found was unconstitutional.

The U.S. military also imposed a mandate on its troops. The U.S. Army has recently reached out to members who were dismissed to advise them they can ask for a correction of their records and to invite those interested in returning to service to contact a recruiter.

Mr. Blair also addressed the $1 billion in cuts to the defence budget. He said the cuts would mainly affect areas like professional services, consultants, and travel.

“I’m absolutely committed that it’s not going to impact” members of the CAF, he said.

The minister and Gen. Eyre appeared before the committee to discuss the increasing reliance on the military to intervene in natural disaster scenarios in Canada.

Gen. Eyre said the capacity to respond must be built at the municipal and provincial levels because the CAF is stretched thin.

“We train for the worst of situations, high-end combat, and if that capability is being used for much lower and more frequent business, it’s not economically viable,” he said.