Canada’s chief of defense staff says multiple global threats and military needs keep her up at night, but her top priority is increasing the number of people in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson at the Halifax International Security Forum in an interview that aired on Sunday The west blockGen. Jennie Carignan said she is pushing for recruiting to surpass 10 percent of the military’s year-end goal if that goal is met ahead of time, with the overall goal of returning to “full strength” within five years.
“If we approach the end of the year and reach the goal, we are not going to stop,” he said. “If we can go higher, we will.”
He added that steps have been taken to streamline the recruitment process and that work needs to be done to properly train those new recruits quickly and put them into service.
The Department of National Defense says The Canadian Armed Forces are approximately 16,500 members short of their authorized force target outlined in the updated defense policy.
This adds to concerns about Canada’s military readiness, which has drawn criticism from NATO allies, particularly the United States, as Canada continues to fall short of NATO’s benchmark of spending at least two percent of GDP in defense.
Receive the latest national news
For news affecting Canada and around the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts delivered directly to you as it happens.
Ottawa says it plans to reach that goal by 2032 and has already taken several steps to increase spending and procurement to meet its NATO commitments, but concerns remain about whether the government’s plan is feasible.
Beyond personnel, Carignan said he is also prioritizing the security and defense of the Arctic, where both Russia and China have encroached on Canada’s sovereignty.
Unlike previous years, Carignan said the deepening bond between Moscow and Beijing has led to greater collaboration between the two countries.
“We used to see the presence of both, but now they are coming, either through joint exercises or joint patrols, whether by sea or also by air,” he said.
He added that Russian and Chinese research vessels that “constantly” navigate the Arctic are also collecting intelligence.
Carignan said more investment is needed to modernize and expand existing detection capabilities in the Arctic. Although the government has committed billions of dollars for over-the-horizon radar systems in the North, it said procurement needs to be accelerated to urgently install those systems.
Next US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pressure allies to increase their defense spending and burden-sharing, which could put Canada in the crosshairs.
But Carignan said she is focused on maintaining Canadian sovereignty in a way that demonstrates the country’s seriousness about defense to the United States.
“I’m very busy with our responsibilities,” she said.
“This is a key priority and definitely where we focus a lot of our efforts.”
He said any potential deal for the war in Ukraine, including a negotiated deal giving Russia some of the territory it has occupied since its invasion in 2022, “will not change” Canada’s efforts to reinforce its brigade in Latvia, which is scheduled to be fully operational in 2026. The brigade is a key part of NATO’s eastern defensive line in Europe.
“We will have to analyze our own participation and contribution to the stability of Ukraine in the future,” he said.
“So of course we will be watching, monitoring and adapting with the information that comes in, that’s for sure.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
