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Breadcrumb Trail Links 1. Home 2. Defence Watch * Share via email * Reddit * X * Share on Linkedin * Open more share options Close Share this Story : Canadian military will rely on an army of public servants to boost its ranks by 300,000 + Copy Link + [ico] Email + [ico] X + [ico] Reddit + [ico] Pinterest + [ico] LinkedIn + [ico] Tumblr Canadian military will rely on an army of public servants to boost its ranks by 300,000 Federal public servants would be trained to shoot guns, drive trucks and fly drones, according to a defence department directive. Author of the article: By David Pugliese * Ottawa Citizen Published Nov 10, 2025 Last updated 9 hours ago 4 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Public servants go to work in downtown Ottawa.Public servants go to work in downtown Ottawa. Photo by JEAN LEVAC /POSTMEDIA Article content The Canadian Forces is counting on public servants to volunteer for military service as it tries to ramp up an army of 300,000 as part of a mobilization plan, according to a defence department directive. Ottawa Citizen THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. * Unlimited digital access to the Ottawa Citizen. * Analysis on all things Ottawa by Bruce Deachman, Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, and others, award-winning newsletters and virtual events. * Opportunity to engage with our commenting community. * Ottawa Citizen ePaper. * Ottawa Citizen App. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. * Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. 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Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. * Access articles from across Canada with one account * Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments * Enjoy additional articles per month * Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address[ ] Continue or View more offers Already a subscriber? Login If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now Article content Federal and provincial employees would be given a one-week training course in how to handle firearms, drive trucks and fly drones, according to the directive, signed by Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan and defence deputy minister Stefanie Beck on May 30, 2025. Article content Article content Article content The public servants would be inducted into the Supplementary Reserve, which is currently made up of inactive or retired members of the Canadian Forces who are willing to return to duty if called. At this point, there are 4,384 personnel in the Supplementary Reserves, but in the case of an emergency, that would be boosted to 300,000, according to the directive from Beck and Carignan. Article content While the supplementary recruiting push will "prioritize volunteer public servants at the federal and provincial/territorial level" the entry standards wouldn't be strict, according to the nine-page unclassified directive. Article content "The entry criteria for the Supplementary or other Reserve should be less restrictive than the Reserve Force for age limits as well as physical and fitness requirements," the document noted. Article content After the initial entry into the ranks, the public servants would be required to do one week's worth of military training each year but would not be issued uniforms. Medical coverage would be provided for their annual military service, but that time would not count towards their pensions, the directive pointed out. Article content Article content The training focus would be on "basic skills (e.g. shoot, move, and communicate; drive a truck; fly a drone: etc.)", Beck and Carignan wrote. Article content Read More 1. Residents walk through Lacovia Tombstone, Jamaica, in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in a photo taken on Oct. 29. Canadian Forces sent to Jamaica as hurricane relief efforts ramp up 2. A Canadian military plan will increase the reserves to 400,000 personnel. Canadian military wants mobilization plan in place to boost reserves to 400,000 personnel 3. Advertisement 1 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Their directive approved the creation of a "tiger team" which will work on setting the stage for a Defence Mobilization Plan or DMP. That team will examine what changes are needed to government legislation as well as examine other factors required to allow for such a massive influx of Canadians into the military. Article content Department of National Defence spokeswoman Andree-Anne Poulin confirmed in an email that participation in the expanded reserve force would be voluntary. "Initial planning has begun to explore how the CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) could contribute to greater national resilience, including leveraging increased readiness from an expanded Reserve Force for defence purposes, in times of crisis, or for natural disasters for example," she added. Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet. Trending 1. Subscriber only. 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Article content Neither DND nor the military would provide comment on the timelines for the creation of the mobilization plan. Article content Work on the initiative by the tiger team located at DND's Carling Campus in Ottawa began on June 4. DND would not comment on whether Carignan and Beck have been briefed on the initial work of the team. Article content The directive also points to a massive increase in the number of Canadian Forces reservists. The reserves are made up of volunteers who are in current military units. Although they are considered part-time, they are involved in training on a year-round basis. Article content The current reserve force would jump from 23,561 to 100,000 for the mobilization plan. There are no details on how that increase would be handled. Article content Beck and Carignan pointed out that the plan would require a Whole of Society (or WoS) effort, meaning that all Canadians would have to contribute to the initiative. That would require the Privy Council Office to lead a government "approach to population engagement to advance servant culture around sovereignty and public accountability," according to their directive. Article content Article content "Defence will not accomplish the outcome alone, rather it will necessitate shaping, facilitation and engagement with the Privy Council Office, other government departments and agencies as well as socialization with the Canadian public," they added. Article content The tiger team will also consult with Canada's allies, "including Finland which is a recognized leader in this area," the document pointed out. Article content Finland has a conscription-based military. Every male Finnish citizen aged 18-60 is liable for military service, and women can apply for military service on a voluntary basis, according to the Finnish defence department website. Article content After Finnish citizens complete their compulsory full-time military service, they are transferred to the reserves. In May, the Finnish government proposed an initiative that would raise the age limit of conscript reservists to 65. Article content Article content DND and the Canadian Forces also declined to comment on how ongoing recruitment problems might impact its mobilization plan. Article content A new report by Auditor General Karen Hogan revealed that the Canadian Forces is not currently recruiting enough individuals to meet its operational needs. "The Canadian Armed Forces continued to have challenges attracting and training enough highly skilled recruits to staff many occupations such as pilots and ammunition technicians," Hogan said of the report, which was released Oct. 21. Article content In their document, Beck and Carignan noted the Canadian government has called for greater resiliency and autonomy on security matters. In order to achieve that goal, the Defence Mobilization Plan is needed, they added. Article content The document does not set out the specific criteria for the mobilization plan to be put into action. But it does mention that global security has been dramatically affected by the rise of strategic competition among states. Article content Some Canadian Forces leaders have claimed that a war between western nations and China or Russia could happen in the near future. In June 2025, Brig.-Gen. Brendan Cook, the Royal Canadian Air Force's director general of air and space force development, warned that Canada needed to rearm for a potential war with China or Russia. That war could come between 2028 and 2030, Cook suggested. Article content In October 2023, the Ottawa Citizen reported on a document issued by then Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre pointed out that Canada is already at war with Russia and China. Article content 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 Article content Share this article in your social network * Share via email * Reddit * X * Share on Linkedin * Open more share options Close Share this Story : Canadian military will rely on an army of public servants to boost its ranks by 300,000 + Copy Link + [ico] Email + [ico] X + [ico] Reddit + [ico] Pinterest + [ico] LinkedIn + [ico] Tumblr Get the latest from David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen straight to your inbox Sign Up Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. 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