Is the Canadian military's ambitious mobilization plan even doable?

In late October, the Ottawa Citizen published details about an initiative, developed by Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan and Deputy Minister Stefanie Beck to significantly boost the numbers of personnel in the ranks.

The mobilization scheme, put in motion on May 31, 2025, outlines the need to increase the current reserve force from 23,561 to 100,000 and to boost supplementary and other reserves from the current 4,384 to 300,000.

The increase would allow the country to be ready in case of a national emergency.

Department of National Defence spokesperson Andrée-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.

But the initiative faced immediate criticism as being poorly thought out and wildly unrealistic.

There are still many many questions and challenges surrounding the mobilization initiative. Here are a few.

How did DND and the Canadian Forces come up with the 100,000 primary reserve and 300,000 supplementary reserve numbers?

Neither Beck nor Carignan will comment on where they came up with such numbers. That, in itself, could be a problem, some defence observers say, as it indicates that the initiative wasn’t fully thought out or supported with data before being launched.

How does the Canadian Forces plan to train 400,000 Canadians each year for one-week periods?

The mobilization document outlines how the reservists will be given a one-week training course in how to handle firearms, drive trucks and fly drones, but whether such a training regime would actually prepare individuals for such skills.

In addition, there are questions about whether the Canadian Forces has the facilities and equipment to actually deal with such a massive influx of personnel.

What are the timelines on implementing this plan?

No actual timelines were provided in the document so it is unclear at this point how long it will take to have this initiative in place and ready to go. In addition, DND and the Canadian Forces have declined to provide a timeline.

How much would it cost to implement this plan?

Neither the Canadian Forces nor DND can provide even a ballpark estimate of what the mobilization initiative would cost. “At this point in time, we are formulating various options and submitting them to the government for a decision,” Carignan explained in a recent interview with National Post. “We’re going to have an idea of cost as well so that we can actually bring this to bear in terms of implementation.”

Are public servants included in the plan?

The Ottawa Citizen, directly quoting from Beck and Carignan’s planning document, noted that the initiative would initially focus on public servants to fill the ranks. “It should initially prioritize volunteer public servants at the federal and provincial/territorial level,” their document stated.

But in a Nov. 11 interview with CTV, Carignan backtracked, claiming the article was not accurate. “It is not focused directly to public servants,” she said. “Our public servants are already contributing extensively to the work we are doing in defence.”

But Carignan has reversed course once again, telling National Post that public servants are indeed part of the plan. “They could, absolutely, because some of them already have a lot of background knowledge in crisis management,” she stated. “Think of a community (that) gets into some kind of crisis via floods, forest fires or other things. You need point persons on the site to be able to gather teams together, provide direction and organize the work, link in with the local authorities and figure this out. This is where we see potential for public servants who already have that expertise and are already aware of the various networks.”

Considering past problems in recruiting, how practical is the proposed initiative?

The Canadian Forces won’t answer that question. Although it recently recruited just a little more than 6,700 individuals into the regular forces — marking a 10-year high — it has had significant problems in the past recruiting and processing enough personnel to fill the ranks.

Will the mobilization plan ever come to fruition?

A Canadian Forces “Tiger Team” is working on the initiative. That work began on June 4.

But Defence Minister David McGuinty told the Globe and Mail in an interview published Dec. 11 that the plan wasn’t his top priority.

It is unclear at this point what the future holds for the proposed mobilization plan.

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

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