Ottawa- The federal government’s decision to promote entry-level salary for members of Canadian armed forces has been praised by expert supervisors as a long-over-over-time overdose.
On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that his government would increase entry level salary for Canadian armed forces and gain 20 percent for regular force and 13 percent for reservoirs.
By 1 April this year, the new pay hike will be retroactive.
Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at the University of Carlton, said there was a long time to increase the salary, especially at the lower level.
He said that if the government is going to spend a lot of money on defense, then promoting salary – especially at the entry level – “is a good way to do it.”
Given the conflicts of the Canadian armed forces with recruitment and recent reports indicate that the army has seen an increase in disgusting conduct and racism, Hampson said it is wise for “pre -” on salary to encourage more people to sign up.
Hampson said that by increasing the salary alone, the government will not get the goal of NATO “in the context of an economy which is clearly slowing down.” He cited new data shared by Statistics Canada on Friday stating that Canada had shed 41,000 jobs last month.
Carney also said that in colonel and high positions, those people will get eight percent growth and lieutenant-needle and people below that rank will increase by 13 percent.
Pay hike is part of the plan to promote recruitment and operational readiness.
Carney said on Friday, “All members of the Canadian armed forces will get increases.” “These will help in growth, salary and encouragement, to revive and change recruitment and retention, to increase the readiness of the force and to ensure that members in uniform have confidence and certainty that they need them.”
Federal bureaucrats told reporters in a technical briefing that the cost of the new compensation package is expected to be around $ 2 billion annually. This is part of promoting a budget of $ 9.3 billion this year, which is to achieve the Defense spending benchmark of NATO of two percent of GDP.
The government also said that it is creating new military allowances and is increasing the existing people so that it can help the personnel to maintain and increase the recruitment of competitive job market.
The bonuses for those entering the allowances include $ 50,000 and the government has called “stressed businesses” – important jobs in areas that are looking at too many vacancies.
The government says that 53 out of 116 important businesses, including vehicles and marine technicians, are now less than 75 percent.
David Perry, president and CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said the government has “a group of smart things” on recruitment.
He said that it was intelligent to increase the salary increase because a cross-board hike “probably not really additional money has not been used smart.”
Defense Minister David McGinty made 20 percent increment before this heat. Carney increased the measures announced on Friday for a installment of members on the basis of rank.
Perry said that it is also a good idea to woo people to understand the army people with the targeted encouragement.
“I think it makes sense,” he said, he feels that the pay hike will create a “significant difference” in making the entry level positions more attractive.
– With files from Kyle Duggan
This report of Canadian Press was first published on August 9, 2025.
Catherine Morrison, Canadian Press
