Canadian military would be 'challenged' to launch a large scale operation: chief of the defence staff
Canada’s military forces are “ready” to meet their commitments should Russia’s war in Ukraine spread to NATO countries, but it would be a “challenge” to launch a larger scale operation in the long term, with ongoing personnel and equipment shortages, according to Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre.
Eyre told Joyce Napier on CTV’s Question Period in an interview airing Sunday that while the forces in Europe are “ready for the tactical mission they’ve been assigned,” he has larger concerns about strategic readiness. He said there’s a lack of people and equipment, and further concern around the ability to sustain a larger scale mission in the longer term.
The Canadian Armed Forces are still struggling to retain staff, with nearly 10,000 fewer trained personnel than they’d need to be at full force, and equipment stocks below what they require.
“We’ve got challenges in all of those,” Eyre said, adding the numbers reflect what’s been “let slip over decades, as we’ve focused on the more immediate (needs).”
Eyre said Canada’s military would be “hard pressed” to launch another large-scale operation like it had in Afghanistan, as an example, without having to redistribute its resources around the globe, as threats evolve.
“The military that we have now is going to be increasingly called upon to support Canada and to support Canadian interests, to support our allies overseas, but as well at home,” Eyre said, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, climate change impacting the landscape in the Arctic, and an increase in digital and cybersecurity threats.
“It’s always a case of prioritization and balancing our deployments around the globe, not just with what, but when, and with who … and getting that balance right is something that that we're working on,” he said. “Could we use more? Yeah, absolutely. But we operate with what we have.”
“We prioritize and balance based on what our allies need, and what the demand signals, just to make sure that we achieve the strategic effect the government wants us to achieve,” he also said.
Meanwhile Defence Minister Anita Anand said on CTV’s Question Period last week that Canada should “be able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” and balance its NATO commitments with securing the Arctic and promoting peace in the Indo-Pacific.
Eyre said his number one priority is getting Canada’s armed forces up to full strength, with an attrition rate of 9.3 per cent between both regular and reserve forces, up from 6.9 per cent last year. The Canadian Armed Forces Retention Strategy was released just last month.
“We are facing the same challenge that every other industry out there is facing in terms of a really tight labor market,” Eyre said. “Every other military in the West is facing the same challenge.”
He explained the organization is working on streamlining its recruitment process, among other changes, to meet the increasing need, with the goal to get numbers up “as quickly as possible.”
“Ideally, would have been yesterday,” he said. “We're looking at where we can accelerate the recruiting, the training, and optimizing our training pipeline.”
IN DEPTH
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6922467.1718138898!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6850735.1713368648!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6970476.1721410082!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
The CrowdStrike outage is affecting health-care services in Canada. Here's what you need to know
A global technology outage that's grounded flights and delayed border crossings is also challenging health-care services in the country, as issues with Microsoft services persist.
Quebec woman's death warns of dangers of cosmetic surgery abroad
Brian McConnell's daughter, Florence McConnell, died after a liposuction surgery complication in Morocco. Now, he warns others against undergoing cosmetic surgeries abroad.
Interior residents get ready to flee as B.C. fire tally soars past 300
The out-of-control Shetland Creek fire in British Columbia's southern Interior has more than doubled in size due to what the wildfire service describes as "significant overnight growth" and more accurate mapping.
Polar bear 'Baffin' dies at Calgary Zoo after not resurfacing from pool
A polar bear died in its enclosure at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo on Friday.
'I feel cheated': Here are the products hit hardest by shrinkflation
Canadians who feel like they are getting less bang for their buck at the grocery store these days might be right. A new report shows the effects of shrinkflation are real.
Tentative deal to end LCBO strike on hold as province accuses union of introducing new demands
The LCBO strike appears to be back on just hours after a tentative agreement was announced.
Woman guilty of murdering, dismembering boyfriend in Nanaimo, B.C.
A 28-year-old British Columbia woman has been found guilty of killing and dismembering her boyfriend on Vancouver Island nearly four years ago.
opinion Trump's assassination attempt not a political winner
Danger and fear are so pervasive throughout the national political ethos it is now the norm, writes Washington political columnist Eric Ham.
What a Donald Trump presidency means for Canada
The most striking thing about walking the floor of the Republican National Convention (RNC) is seeing just how much this is Donald Trump's party, CTV News' Vassy Kapelos says.
Local Spotlight
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6970639.1721414607!/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpeg)
Benefit concert to be held for N.B. teen badly injured in 'freak accident'
It's been more than a month since their good friend was seriously hurt in an accident and two teens from Riverview, N.B., are still having a hard time dealing with it.
Here's what happens to rejected Halifax bridge coins
Halifax bridges have collected thousands of coins from around the world.
Video shows B.C. grizzly basking in clawfoot tub
A donated clawfoot bathtub has become the preferred lounging spot for a pair of B.C. grizzly bears, who have been taking turns relaxing and reclining in it – with minimal sibling squabbling – for the past year.
Cemetery 'investigators' connecting families with forgotten gravestones
A pair of cemetery investigators are cleaning and preserving as many gravestones they have permission to work on, as they conduct their research and document gravestones.
'Just so grateful': B.C. man uses Google Lens to reunite woman with lost family heirloom
After more than three years, a B.C. woman has been reunited with a lost family heirloom.
Edmonton man contributes thousands of photos to Google while dressed as an alien
One of Edmonton’s main contributors to Google Street View is a man who dresses up as an alien.
Nearly 10 years after it was first pitched, Vancouverites can climb the stairway to nowhere
Nearly 10 years after it was first proposed, an interactive piece of public art is officially open in Vancouver's Hastings Park.
Sudbury's Big Nickel celebrates its 60th birthday
An event July 22 at Dynamic Earth in Sudbury will mark the 60th anniversary of the iconic Big Nickel, the largest coin in the world.
Cyclist riding across Canada for children's charity stops in Montreal
Cyclist Jagjeet Singh cruised through Montreal on Sunday morning as he rides across the country to raise money for a children's charity.