Canadian Armed Forces says 2,400 permanent residents applied to join in November
Global News
Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre officially opened the military's doors to all permanent residents in October, in direct response to an unprecedented personnel crisis.
The Canadian Armed Forces says it has received hundreds of applications from permanent residents interested in joining the military, but getting those prospective recruits into uniform could take up to two years.
Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre officially opened the military’s doors to all permanent residents in October, in direct response to an unprecedented personnel crisis that has left the Armed Forces scrambling for new recruits.
Defence Minister Anita Anand publicly announced the measure, which went into effect on Oct. 18, on Monday.
A permanent resident is someone who has been allowed to live and work in Canada after immigrating from another country but is not a Canadian citizen. Hundreds of thousands of new permanent residents arrive in Canada every year, but until last week only those who have training from a foreign military could apply to join the Armed Forces.
The military says more than 2,400 people submitted applications in November, a number that the commander of the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group described on Wednesday as unexpected.
“I’ll be honest with you, it has a bit has been a bit of a surprise to us as to how much uptake the permanent resident initiative has taken,” said Col. Nick Roby. “And we are obviously super excited about the opportunity.”
The number is especially notable when considering the military received about 4,000 applications over the same period from Canadian citizens.
Yet the military’s excitement is also being tempered by what Roby acknowledged will be specific challenges related to security screenings, which involve checking each applicant’s background before allowing them to put on a uniform.
The agency says more than 22,000 people have been removed from the country in the last 12 months, and nearly 30,000 removals were "in progress" as of Oct. 31.
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