Canadian Forces personnel are to receive a
20 per cent salary increase
, Defence Minister David McGuinty has confirmed.
The move is part of a $9-billion spending increase that will see Canada’s defence and security budget climb to an all-time high of $62.7 billion annually by next year. The initiative was announced June 9 by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Carney said the salary increases were well deserved and would contribute to retaining personnel in the ranks as well as attracting new recruits.
McGuinty told journalists on June 10 that improvements were also coming in military benefits, housing and health care. “That’s where a lot of the initial investment will be, of course, including a 20-per-cent pay increase,” he said.
But when that pay hike will come is still unclear. The Ottawa Citizen asked the Department of National Defence on June 10 for details about the raises and for information on when military personnel would see the extra money on their paycheques. DND did not respond.
In addition, there will be increases in training allowances and the introduction of retention bonuses for key military personnel. No further details were provided.
At a June 9 technical briefing that followed Carney’s spending announcement, government officials noted it was expected that around
1,400 new staff would be hired
at DND. More health-care workers will be hired for the Canadian Forces and the civilian workforce will be expanded so military personnel can focus on operations, government officials said at the technical briefing. Under government-imposed rules, the officials who provided the briefing cannot be identified.
The Ottawa Citizen asked DND on June 9 for a timeline on when the additional 1,400 staff would be hired. DND did not respond.
June Winger, national president of the Union of National Defence Employees, said Wednesday that she had received initial information from DND that more civilian staff would be hired, but no specific details. But Winger noted that the department had faced significant barriers in getting new staff in place because of delays in completing security clearances. Such clearances are taking months and perspective staff, instead of waiting, are instead accepting jobs other than at DND, she said.
There have also been concerns raised about the retention of experienced troops.
In January, the Ottawa Citizen
reported that military staff were recommending retention bonuses
to keep key personnel from leaving the ranks, but there were questions at the time about whether the government would fund such a plan.
The document also noted that efforts to manage and retain military personnel should include ensuring career flexibility across various occupations in the Canadian Forces and supporting military personnel and their families.
In April 2024,
a top adviser to the chief of the defence staff warned
that Canada’s soldiers were leaving the ranks because of toxic military leadership. Canadian Forces Chief Warrant Officer Bob McCann flagged his concerns during a meeting in which he appealed for changes in how leaders dealt with lower ranks.
Job dissatisfaction, a lack of housing and repeated moves to new locations across the country have been cited in past military reports as the top reasons that Canadian Forces personnel leave.
In the fall of 2021, the previous chief of the defence staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, faced intense criticism from the ranks after he had admonished mid-level officers for leaving the military. Eyre admitted in a message to military personnel that his comments “did not sit well with some current and former members,” the Ottawa Citizen reported on Dec. 20, 2021.
Eyre had blamed the military’s sexual-misconduct crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic for an exodus of Canadian Forces personnel, but the general’s comments generated an immediate and largely negative response on social media. Military personnel commented that Eyre was out of touch and that the exodus of personnel had started long before the pandemic or the sexual-misconduct crisis. Poor leadership and concerns about quality of life were among common issues cited by those who had left.
David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe
