Work satisfaction among Canadian soldiers has declined in recent years, according to a Defence Department year-end report.
The Dec. 23 report said the percentage of military personnel who feel the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) provides a reasonable quality of life for service members and their families has fallen to 30.4 percent, compared to 43.2 percent in 2023 and 34.4 percent in 2022. The CAF’s target is at least 85 percent.
The report did not explain the decline, saying it is based on “subjective survey respondents and has not been analyzed for further results.”
The percentage of regular force members who said the CAF provides a reasonable quality of life was 29.2 percent, while in the reserves it was 33.2 percent.
The percentage of members who feel positively about their jobs dropped to 57.7 percent from 60.9 percent in 2023 and 62.5 percent in 2022. The report said 53.5 percent of regular force members feel positively about their jobs compared with 68.3 percent of reservists.
Asked whether they are satisfied with the overall support their family receives from the CAF, 57.7 percent answered yes, compared with 64.3 percent in 2023 and 58.5 percent in 2022.
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The report also detailed several targets for metrics that reflect “the values and diversity of Canadian society.” The number who self-identified as a woman in the CAF was unchanged at 16.5 percent, while the percentage who identified as a visible minority was 12.2 percent, compared to 11.1 percent in 2023 and 10.1 percent in 2022.
At the same time, 16 percent of CAF members said they were victims of discrimination in 2024 compared with 15.7 percent in 2023, and 14.8 percent in 2022.
While the report said the CAF is “growing towards” its end goal of 101,500 personnel, the 2024 figures showed a decline in numbers. The percentage of regular force staff positions that are filled fell to 89.1 percent, compared to 88.7 percent in 2023 and 91.6 percent in 2022.
For reserve positions, the percentage of positions filled increased to 77.5 percent from 75.1 percent in 2023 and 76 percent in 2022. Overall, 72.9 percent of occupations in the CAF face critical shortfalls in 2024, compared to 70 percent in 2023 and 61.7 percent in 2022.
The report noted the CAF has been modifying its recruitment policies to ensure the system is more flexible. While recruiting has “recently been challenging,” the CAF saw positive personnel numbers in 2024 for the first time since 2020, enrolling 4,301 members into the regular force.
In his year-end letter, Defence Minister Bill Blair said taking on current and future security threats requires a “diverse military, with the right people in the right numbers.” He said the recruitment process is being accelerated to address gaps between the CAF’s current and authorized force size.
