Nearly 7,000 people joined Canada’s military over the last year, exceeding the Canadian Armed Forces’ recruitment goal and marking a 10-year high in enrollment.
More recruits are enlisting at a time of heightened focus on Canadian sovereignty, and as Prime Minister Mark Carney vows to rebuild the military and reduce reliance on the United States.
It’s a sign of some progress in a recruitment crisis the previous defence minister described as a “death spiral,” but government officials acknowledge significant problems with retention remain.
The Department of Defence released numbers to Global News on Monday, showing that 6,706 recruits enrolled in the regular forces between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025, surpassing its target of 6,496.
The figures represent a 55 per cent increase from the previous year and a 10-year peak.
“These milestones highlight the success of the CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) recent changes to the recruitment process, and commitment to building a more modern and effective military,” department spokesperson Derek Abma said in a statement.
Cmdr. Pascal Belhumeur, head of the military’s personnel generation group, did not tie the spike to U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation rhetoric, telling Global News it’s too early to know what’s behind the renewed interest.
He attributed the rise in applicants to modernization efforts and widening eligibility, but added that other factors could be at play, including economic uncertainty, advertising efforts and a growing number of Canadians reflecting on “who we are as a country.”
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Trump has repeatedly threatened to make Canada the 51st state, while also launching a punishing trade war against the United States’ northern neighbour and closest ally.
After years of lagging behind its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, Carney pledged on Monday to meet NATO’s two per cent of GDP defence spending target this fiscal year, half a decade ahead of schedule.
The plan amounts to an increase of $9.3 billion in defence funding for 2025-26.
“We’re too reliant on the United States,” the prime minister said during a speech at the University of Toronto’s Munk School.
“The long-held view that Canada’s geographic location will protect us is becoming increasingly archaic.”
But better protecting Canada will require digging out of a personnel hole. To do so, Carney has vowed to increase salaries, build more housing on military bases and improve health and legal services.
“They deserve better. And they will have better,” the prime minister pledged during Monday’s speech.
Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, defence analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said the latest recruitment numbers are “encouraging and worth celebrating” but insists there are some caveats.
“Six thousand, seven hundred and six new members in the regular force does not necessarily translate into 6,706 active members once fully trained,” Duval-Lantoine said in an e-mail to Global News.
“Is that enrolment keeping pace with attrition? Basic training is one of the moments in military life that suffers the highest level of attrition.”
The CAF is short roughly 14,000 personnel. The Department of National Defence’s goal is to reach 71,500 regular forces members and 30,000 reserve members in 2029.
Government officials say they’re confident they’ll hit those targets this time around, citing growing excitement around Canada’s increased military investment and what they refer to as changing demographics.
The CAF widened eligibility to include permanent residents and changed medical standards, allowing people with asthma, allergies, anxiety and ADHD to apply.
“While we’re seeing an improvement in numbers in the short-term, whether it translates into readiness for the CAF is a big question,” Duval-Lantoine said.
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