By Mata Press Service

Canada’s push to rebuild its depleted military ranks by opening new recruitment pathways for permanent residents is producing record enrolment numbers but also exposing serious problems inside the basic training system,

According to a leaked internal report written by Lt.-Col. Marc Kieley, commandant of the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., the basic training success rate fell to 77 per cent in 2025, down from 85 per cent the previous year.

It also says the proportion of candidates who needed multiple attempts to complete training rose to 14.89 per cent, compared with 8.44 per cent in 2024.

The findings come just days after National Defence announced that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) had surpassed its Regular Force recruiting target for the second year in a row, enrolling 7,310 new members in fiscal 2025/26. That was above the target of 6,957 and marked the highest number of enrolments in more than three decades.

Ottawa has framed the rebound as evidence that its recruitment reforms are working.

The CAF says it enrolled 1,400 permanent residents in 2025/26, up from 823 the previous year and just 109 in 2023/24.

Permanent residents accounted for a growing share of the military’s recruiting effort as the Forces tried to close long-standing personnel gaps.

But Kieley’s report suggests the numbers tell only part of the story.

“The current CAF basic training model assumes that roughly 85 per cent of all candidates can be effectively trained to become CAF soldiers, sailors and aviators and officers,” Kieley wrote.

He said the recent drop in success rates has created “significant friction” within the training school.

The report points to several causes, including mental health concerns, cultural adjustment problems, weak expectations about military life and the impact of policy changes that widened the pool of eligible recruits.

One of the most sensitive issues involves permanent residents who entered the military with limited time in Canada.

The report says some platoons included candidates with as little as three months of residency, creating “significant culture shock” because some recruits had not yet adjusted to Canadian society, let alone Canadian military culture.

In one French-speaking unit, only 48 per cent of the class graduated. The report said that unit was also affected by allegations of racism and infighting among recruits, including tensions between candidates from Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.

Kieley also cited gender-related cultural challenges, particularly in officer training. For some permanent resident candidates, the report said, basic training was the first time they had lived with members of another sex or were expected to treat women as peers.

The report does not say these issues apply to all permanent resident recruits. It does, however, warn that the demographic has been “challenging” to train when integration, expectations and support systems are not properly aligned with the pace and demands of basic training.

The CAF has already moved to tighten the pathway.

On Feb. 23, 2026, it updated enrolment eligibility rules for permanent residents. Applicants must now be Canadian citizens or permanent residents with at least three years of physical presence in Canada to join.

The change reflects the fact that most military occupations require members to be citizens or to meet residency requirements before they can become fully employable.

Permanent residents remain eligible to apply for more than 90 occupations across the navy, army and air force, depending on suitability, military needs and applicant interests.

The report also raises concerns about mental health pressures among recruits.

Kieley warned of a “dramatic increase” in applicants arriving with significant mental health concerns, including anxiety. He said 92 recruit candidates had to be sent to an outside hospital or clinic on multiple occasions, and that the local suicide crisis centre was “typically filled to full capacity” with candidates from the training school.

Some candidates were not disclosing mental health issues during the initial recruitment process, the report said. Kieley recommended closer monitoring of candidates entering with pre-existing medical conditions.

The internal concerns come as the CAF continues to struggle with a personnel shortage that has affected readiness, deployments and training capacity.

As of April 2026, the Regular Force stood at 67,827 members. The CAF says it has added nearly 5,000 net new members over the last two years and is on track to reach an authorized strength of 71,500 by 2029.

The military is now aiming higher. For fiscal 2026/27, it has set a recruiting objective of 8,200 enrolments, supported by about 10,000 basic training seats to account for attrition and course sequencing.

National Defence says new digital systems are being introduced to better prepare candidates before they arrive at basic training.

Defence Minister David McGuinty said the recruiting rebound shows “renewed strength at the core of our military,” while Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan said the priority is to sustain the momentum while expanding the military’s ability to “train, integrate, and support” those who choose to serve.