Stop Failing Our Forces
Ottawa, ON – James Bezan, Conservative Shadow Minister for National Defence, issued the following statement on the Auditor General’s reports concerning the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF):
“As Canada faces new threats from our adversaries around the globe, we need a military that is ready to stand on guard. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, today’s Auditor General reports confirmed even more serious problems in the CAF after a decade of Liberal mismanagement.
“One report revealed that between 2022 and 2025, the CAF’s recruitment numbers fell short by about 4,700. Only 1 in 13 applicants actually began basic training – a statistic made more appalling when we consider the combined shortfall of recruits in the regular and reserve forces is a staggering 12,785.
“This is far from a mere math problem, with the report claiming these shortages could affect the CAF’s ability ‘to respond to threats, emergencies, or conflicts and to accomplish their missions’.
“For those who make it through to their first posting, the problems are more dire. Today we learned that the housing shortage has worsened since the National Defence Committee study in 2023-2024. There is now a shortage of up to 7,200 housing units for CAF members across the country, with single-bedroom units most in demand. On just three bases – Esquimalt, Gagetown and Trenton – 227 high-priority repairs were identified across just 32 buildings.
“Further, 25% of existing living quarters require ‘major repairs,’ lack basic amenities like sanitation and potable water, and are even slated by the Department of National Defence for disposal. This will strain waiting lists further and push even more CAF members to ‘live rough’ or couch surf until this Liberal government gets its act together.
“Over the lost Liberal decade, our military has been plagued by the erosion of operational readiness, which led to a recruitment and retention death spiral at a time when the world has become a more dangerous place. Conservatives will restore respect to our women and men in uniform by quickly building base housing, removing wait time barriers to recruitment, and getting them the equipment they need to protect Canada. It is high time for this government to do the same.”