Overview

• Defence planners will roll out nearly 20% pay raises for Canadian Armed Forces personnel this fall, with allowances tailored to rank and high-demand trades.
• The CAF surpassed its recruitment goal by 2,000 this year—the first time in a decade it has exceeded targets—with women making up 18% of new enlistees.
• Ottawa aims to grow regular forces to 71,500 members and reserves to 30,000 under a decade-long expansion of core military capabilities.
• New funding will support additional Arctic radar bases and sensor networks designed to detect threats and enable rapid deployment of jets or ships.
• These measures mark the start of Canada’s implementation phase for its NATO-backed pledge to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.