The Department of National Defence says it is not considering a proposal to use bonuses to keep specific Canadian Forces personnel from leaving.
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An October 2024 plan to rebuild the Canadian Forces outlined the need for reducing the time for security checks for new recruits, improving military housing, health care and compensation and requesting additional funds for bonuses to retain certain staff.
That briefing for Lt.-Gen. Lise Bourgon, the chief of military personnel, was revealed by the Ottawa Citizen in early January 2025.
Previous military reports have raised concerns about ongoing personnel shortages in technical trades, among pilots, as well as medical and health care staff.
But the Department of National Defence confirms that retention bonuses are not on the table.
DND spokesperson Kened Sadiku said in an email that the Canadian Forces regularly considers options to help bolster the strength of the military. But he added that “no specific direction has been taken with regards to the use of retention incentives.”
He did acknowledge that the Canadian military has used retention bonuses before. “Between 1998 and 2001, the CAF offered a Pilot Terminable Allowance, a one-time retention payment, based on certain factors, to qualified pilots,” he added.
Various western militaries, facing personnel shortages, have been using retention bonuses to entice individuals to continue to stay in the ranks.
On Nov. 22, 2024, the British government announced bonuses equivalent to $54,000 for aircraft engineers who sign up for an additional three years of military service. Privates and lance corporals who have already served four years would be eligible for a new retention bonus which is the equivalent of $14,000.
An internal U.S. Air Force memo, leaked online in December 2024, noted that 89 key occupations would be eligible for retention bonuses in 2025. Those bonuses range from the equivalent of $260,000 to $520,000. The retention money is aimed at a variety of jobs, including specialized maintenance crews to Chinese language analysts.
The briefing for Bourgon, however, noted the challenges the Canadian military faces including obtaining support from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat for any proposed initiatives. The document asked “How to get funding for people initiatives?” But it did not provide any answers.
The document also noted that efforts to manage and retain military personnel should include ensuring career flexibility across various occupations in the Canadian Forces and supporting military personnel and their families.
In April 2024, a top advisor to the chief of the defence staff warned that Canada’s soldiers were leaving the ranks because of toxic military leadership. Canadian Forces Chief Warrant Officer Bob McCann flagged his concerns during an April 23 meeting in which he appealed for changes in how leaders dealt with lower ranks.
Job dissatisfaction, a lack of housing and repeated moves to new locations across the country have been cited in past military reports as the top reasons that Canadian Forces personnel leave.
But McCann, who advises the chief of the defence staff on issues relating to non-commissioned members, said personnel weren’t just quitting because they were being moved to locations they did not want to be.
“A lot of our members leave this organization not necessarily because they are not going where they want to be,” he explained to the audience of officers during a virtual town hall. “They leave because of toxic leadership or bad leadership. This is one aspect that we need to address if we are going to support our members better as they serve.”
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan said at a Feb. 19, 2025 briefing for journalists that the military is on track to meet its recruitment goal of enrolling 6,496 members this fiscal year.
The Liberal government and military leadership has talked about rebuilding the Canadian Forces in what has been called a reconstitution effort. The goal is to at least rebuild the ranks to 71,500 in the regular force and 30,000 in the primary reserves, according to a DND results report released in 2024.
The number of personnel fluctuates but reports suggest at this point the Canadian Forces is more than 13,500 short of their goal.
In the fall of 2021, the previous chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre faced intense criticism from the ranks after had admonished mid-level officers for leaving the military.
Eyre admitted in a message to military personnel that his comments “did not sit well with some current and former members,” the Ottawa Citizen reported on Dec. 20, 2021.
Eyre had blamed the military’s sexual misconduct crisis and the pandemic for an exodus of Canadian Forces personnel. But the general’s comments generated an immediate and largely negative response on social media. Military personnel commented that Eyre was out of touch and that the exodus of personnel had started long before the pandemic or the sexual misconduct crisis. Poor leadership and concerns about quality of life were among common issues cited by those who had left.
David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe