The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is becoming more diverse every day, a new report from Canada’s auditor general says.
But the CAF has managed to boost the representation of certain identity groups better than others, the Oct. 21 report says.
Auditor-General Karen Hogan examined recruitment in the CAF between April 2022 and March 2025. She found the organization is falling short of its female recruitment targets, but exceeding its targets for Indigenous people and other visible minorities.
The report also shows a dramatic rise in the number of permanent residents joining the Forces since it changed its security screening requirements in October 2024.
In the first year of the review, the CAF recruited just eight permanent residents. Two years later, that number had ballooned to 823.
Diversity push
The auditor general found the military surpassed its own targets for recruiting both Indigenous and visible minorities.
Indigenous recruits grew from four per cent of new recruits in 2022–23 to five per cent in the subsequent two fiscal years. Visible minorities grew from 20 per cent of new recruits in 2022–23 to 28 per cent by 2024–25.
These numbers significantly exceeded the CAF’s targets of 3.5 per cent and 11.8 per cent for Indigenous peoples and visible minorities, respectively.
Representation of women, however, remained below the CAF’s longstanding goal of 25 per cent. Women now make up about 18 per cent of the CAF, up from 14 per cent in 2016.
The report found that only four per cent of female applicants were ultimately recruited, compared with nine per cent of male applicants, despite the CAF’s policy of prioritizing women in hiring.
Internal CAF analysis cited in the audit suggests that lower female recruitment is partly due to doubts about applicants’ ability to meet physical or medical standards, their fears of combat service and concerns about their mental health.
A related Department of National Defence statement from Oct. 6 states that “barriers [for potential female applicants] include … concerns about work-life balance, separation from friends and family, potential marginalization in a male-dominated work environment, and the perception that it is not possible to pursue a preferred career field in the military.”
‘Future citizens’
Until 2022, only Canadian citizens were eligible to serve in the Canadian military.
That December, then-defence minister Anita Anand announced that citizens from other countries would become eligible to join the CAF if they secured permanent residency in Canada.
In a statement of support for the move, then-minister of immigration Sean Fraser referred to this new pool of potential recruits as “future citizens.”
“Many of these future citizens already work in key sectors across Canada,” said Fraser in an online news release. “And I am pleased that they will now have the opportunity to make an extraordinary contribution to Canada by choosing a career in service of the country they now call home.”
Prior to October 2024, any permanent resident who had lived in or visited a foreign country was subject to additional vetting. That month, the CAF reduced its vetting procedures, allowing permanent residents who had not lived in or travelled to higher-risk countries to be processed under the same framework as Canadian citizens.
Recruitment of permanent residents grew dramatically after these changes. Over the first two years of the audit period, the Forces recruited just 177 permanent residents. In the seven months following the reform, that number jumped to 763.
When asked by Canadian Affairs at a Feb. 19 press conference whether the CAF has any specific recruitment targets for permanent residents, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan said:
“We don’t have a specific number that we are aiming towards, but we are aiming towards being a representation of all Canadians within our Forces.
“So it means we need to recruit enough diversity in the CAF to ensure that there’s representation of all Canadians within the military.
“Recruiting talent amongst 100 per cent of the population, if you do the math, it’s much more efficient than recruiting amongst a smaller number.”
On Oct. 21, shortly after the auditor general’s report was released, Minister of Defence David McGuinty released a statement noting the department’s commitment to addressing the Force’s identified shortcomings.
“The CAF continues to build a more modern, effective, and inclusive military, supported by digital tools and data-driven processes,” said McGuinty.
“Work is ongoing to improve efficiency, reduce delays and align recruitment and training systems with the evolving needs of the organization and of Canadians.”
The photo used in your article is an official Canadian Armed Forces image and therefore Crown copyright. While it may be publicly accessible, its use must not misrepresent the individual depicted. In this case, the article’s framing inaccurately implies I am a permanent resident. I am a Canadian citizen and did not consent to being used in this context.
Meanwhile, Canadian born citizens are deemed second class to visual minorities who are not Canadian born. This is the same struggle outside the CAF.
Nobody cares about the ethnic diversity of the military. The big question is, are they physically and mentally capable of effectively defending our country??