Permanent residents in the Canadian military | Only 77 enlistments in one year

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have opened their doors to permanent residents in the hope of filling their ranks. But after a year, only 77 enlisted, including 10 in Quebec, we learned The Press.

This is very few soldiers in action for a campaign which was announced on December 5, 2022 with the aim of breathing new life into recruitment. Especially since Canada expected to welcome 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023.

The Minister of National Defense at the time, Anita Anand, said that “enlisting permanent residents will help us grow our armed forces by integrating competent, well-trained people who choose a career in uniform.”

Within the CAF, recruiting officials suggest looking at the record from a longer-term perspective. They say they received 21,472 online applications from permanent residents between 1^er November 2022 and November 24, 2023. Of these, more than 6,000 took the aptitude tests and 2,800 underwent their medical evaluation.

All of these people are still in the administrative machinery of the FAC leading to possible enlistment. But this mechanism takes time, which military spokespersons recognize.

“This figure of 77 enlisted people may seem small, but we are in a non-linear process which requires several verifications, both for Canadian citizens and permanent residents,” indicates in an interview Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Cameron, senior officer. from the Operations Staff to the CAF Recruiting Group Headquarters.

When a candidate expresses a desire to enlist in the army, he must go through three main stages: aptitude tests, medical examination and security checks. However, this last step may take longer for permanent residents due to verifications to be carried out outside the country.

Of the 77 new arrivals, several have chosen the professions of infantryman, sailor and avionics technician, specify the FAC. Other candidates have expressed interest in a wide variety of positions: administration, engineering officer, cyber operator, etc.

Qualifications

For Christian Leuprecht, full professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, the numerical data is difficult to interpret in the moment since there is no precedent.

“I think we need to look more at what qualifications recruits present themselves with,” he said. The Forces have labor shortages in specific areas, such as technical jobs in the navy and air force. In addition, there are areas where there is a lack of French speakers. Here again, we will have to see if the recruitment of permanent residents will make it possible to fill positions. »

Canada is not the first country to open the ranks of its army to permanent residents. In Spain, 7 percent of members of the military were non-Spaniards in 2008, according to the Associated Press. These include people of South American origin. This has been the case since compulsory military service was abolished in Spain in 2000.

Other countries such as the United States, Australia and France (Foreign Legion) incorporate individuals born outside their territory.

According to Stéphane Roussel, full professor at the National School of Public Administration (ENAP), enlisting permanent residents is a good idea in the context where both recruitment and retention of new military personnel are “contiguous problems”, as Canadian demographics changes with new arrivals and that the country has a very low unemployment rate.

Behind target

Overall, the CAF is falling behind its recruiting objectives for this fiscal year. Since 1^er April, around 2700 enlistments were recorded. “It is estimated that by the end of the year, 4,200 people will have enlisted. The objective is to recruit 6,700 citizens and permanent residents,” notes Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron.

We are far from the target… “Yes, but we expect it to increase,” replies the spokesperson. In recent years, we have noted an increase in applicants. »

When the new policy was announced, the CAF indicated that permanent residents enlisting could see their path to citizenship accelerate. The FAC, however, was not able to tell us whether any of the 77 new recruits were naturalized Canadians.

According to 2021 federal census statistics, 97,625 Canadians were serving in the Forces, whether in the regular force or the reserves.