Canadian Armed Forces says it’s on track to meet 2025’s recruitment goal

OTTAWA — More Canadians have expressed an interest in joining the military since U.S. President Donald Trump took office — but the Canadian Armed Forces isn’t attributing that spike to Trump and his talk of annexing Canada.

The Canadian Armed Forces received roughly 1,000 more applications over the last month than it did in the same month in 2024.

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Military officials say they won’t have data explaining why the numbers are up for some time.

The military has been working to change its recruitment practices and get applicants into uniform faster.

It’s been dealing with a severe personnel shortage for more than two years and is now short around 13,500 troops.

But Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff, says the numbers have stabilized and the military is on track to meet its recruitment goal for this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press