“CAF – Canadian Armed Forces”

The federal Liberals want to increase the size of Canada’s military reserves by 10-fold to nearly 300,000 from just under 30,000. And one of the Department of National Defence’s (DND) primary methods for achieving that goal is to encourage more enlistment into the part-time Armed Forces by federal and provincial civil servants.

If we go to war, a lot will depend on the reserves. The CAF can’t treat them like an afterthought

The Canadian Armed Forces’ greatest enemy is ignorance — or a certain national cluelessness — and this is especially true for the reserves. From military reporters to regular full-time Canadian Armed Forces members, many don’t know what a reservist actually is or does. Let me offer a few ideas for reflection, based on my 500-page study of 30 years of unvarying reserve problems, Relentless Struggle.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) stands at a decisive moment in its history. Around the world, rivalries are resurfacing, alliances are being tested and the international order that Canada helped build through sacrifice and service is fracturing. This is Canada’s moment not only to reinvest in its military, but to reclaim the warrior ethos that once defined those who wear the uniform.

Get your elbows up, boys. Canada’s back! Mark Carney is going to make Canada Great Again and pull the military up by its bootstraps. Hooah!

Chief of the Defence Staff and weepy DEI-hire General Jennie Carignan signed a directive to increase the size of Canada’s reserve forces from 25,561 to 400,000. For those rubbing their eyes at that number, that is a 16-fold increase.

Mark Carney’s first budget has delivered the biggest increase in defence spending in decades, as the government seeks to rebuild the military at a time when the Prime Minister says Canada can no longer rely on the United States for protection.

The fiscal plan, tabled a week before Remembrance Day, includes $84-billion to the Department of National Defence over five years, believed to be the biggest short-term cash infusion for the military since the Korean War. The new spending will go to pay raises, precision-strike capabilities, upgrading aging infrastructure and cyberdefences, among other things.

Canada’s young people are falling behind. According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 sits at 14.2 per cent, more than double the national average. The unemployment rate among youth attending school is 17.1 per cent, up 3.1 percentage points from last September. Among those youth who are working, many are under-employed, bouncing between short-term contracts or part-time jobs that barely cover the costs of rent or school. Add to that, AI eliminating entry level jobs and an economy braced for more tariffs, and the employment prospects for young people look increasingly bleak.

This past week, Gen. Jennie Carignan, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, tearfully apologized for what she called “systemic racism and racial discrimination” in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The intention was noble. Yet the sweeping assertion that the CAF is “systemically racist” demands closer scrutiny.

NEW: Canada’s top general, Jennie Carignan, starts crying as she apologizes for “systemic racism.”

At one point during her speech, it sounded like someone was weeping in the background as well.

“I acknowledge we failed you… We didn’t create an environment where you could serve… pic.twitter.com/cQIx6g9jQn

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 31, 2025