The leaked Canadian military report shows that many new recruits are quick

The Canadian military insists that it gets its recruitment crisis under control, but a new internal report that is preserved from CBC News indicates that many of those who come through the door to quickly frustrated about the inability to be trained and to become the desired work.

In addition, the efforts to keep experienced soldiers, seafarers and aircraft crews has recently been an important blow when a Department of National Defense has been set up – to find ways to keep people.

The struggle to recruit new members for both regular and reserve staff was a great deal of employment because the forces are faced with a lack of up to 14,000 qualified personnel.

But the downside of the equation – which has attracted less attention – is the effort to capture people, especially in critical technical business.

According to the evaluation preserved by CBC News, the greatest retention problem of the military seems to belong among those who have just joined.

Problems with adjustment and training

“The highest wear rates within the [Canadian Armed Forces] CAF are observed at its lowest and latest members, “says the report, which referred to the 2023-24 financial year, in which 9.4 percent of the newly enrolled members, in contrast to the average of 4.3 percent, canceled.

The reason why new members stop: training of delays and difficulties to adapt to military life.

In some cases, recruits are waiting for training for over 206 days – especially in specialized shops.

“There are not enough trainers, equipment, training facilities and other support to effectively achieve the training goals,” the report written in April 2025 said.

“This leads to delays that considerably frustrate [new] Members who are often exposed to months of underemployment. “

Defense researcher Charlotte Duval-Lantoine said that the Ministry of Defense seems to be repairing the crisis in a linear, one-step fashion to get closer and then repaired the training system.

“If you sit like a lame duck and wait for your training, your morals can quickly let up,” said Duval-Lantoine, Vice President at Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

“We really have to change the way we talk about the current state of the staff. We can not only speak in pure numbers. We really have to talk about how many people are doing their work today.”

During media availability last winter to increase the military plan to increase recruitment to trumpets, the country's best military commander, General Jeanie Carignan, was a problem. She said that efforts would be made to improve basic training, the trades training, which is the focus of the retention problems.

“It makes no sense when recruiting if you don't keep people,” said Carignan.

Likewise the commander of the military personnel, a lieutenant general. Lise Bourgon said they are trying to continue training bottleneck with external partnerships with external partnerships.

“There is a great partnership with the Community College and other academic institutions in Canada so that we can use civilian capacity,” said Bourgon and noted that a certain pre -qualification can be carried out in the civilian system.

Three years ago, the military made a stab to deal with the problem of keeping people in uniform with a 90-page strategy document.

As part of this plan, the chief of the defense employee, who has now set up a program office by General Wayne Eryre, set up a program office to collect data and analyzes and to give managerial guidance for managers how the members can best leave.

The evaluation report received from CBC News states that the efforts of the military's top commanders had hardly made any progress, partly because of the “limited consciousness” of the strategy introduced by Eyre and former defense minister Anita Anita.

“This problem was exacerbated by the development of the supplementary program office, which for the administration of the [senior leaders’] Tasks described in the strategy, “said the evaluation.

The Ministry of Defense was asked why the office, which also had the task of researching the reasons to cancel, was defused and whether it refers to the internal budget edition of the liberal government.

The department said that there could be no questions from CBC News via Deadline.

Follow-through

Last year, the government of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed national defense to find savings of $ 810 million – money that could be pumped back into equipment purchases. According to the federal government, it is said that the DND would achieve savings of $ 851 million in the financial year 2025-26 and then $ 907 million.

Duval-Lantoine said that this is followed by a typical pattern. The Ministry of Defense has all these plans and either never follows or do not support them.

“It is horrific to see staff [policy] Parts that are defended in what the military called the military as a reconstitution, “said Duval-Lantoine.

“Since 2022 we have heard that personnel problems have priority for the Canadian armed forces. If we then look at the whole line, the military does not put its money where his mouth is.”

In EXIT interviews, the deprived members talk about the “challenges in connection with a high company pace, lack of equipment, training and management”.

One of the greatest complaints from new members who go is that they believe that high -ranking commanders have the wrong priorities.

“Interview with evidence shows that a perception management prioritization of cultural change from critical operating needs such as ammunition and equipment,” says the evaluation.

Similarly, the report showed that it is only slight effort to capture very experienced members who are about to retire, but could possibly be prompted.

“Many had several geographical postings and feel 'tired and broken,” said the evaluation.

“It was found that the members entitled to pension contributed their part to serve the country, and there are therefore no strong attempts to keep them.”

According to the evaluation, a ray of hope is the Naval Experience Program (NEP), with which recruits can take part in a test basis for a year. According to the report, it has reduced the initial dissatisfaction.

“Early data show that this initiative had positive effects and enabled some recruits to switch to another element after they were initially connected to the Royal Canadian Navy.”