Military not looking to end COVID-19 vaccine mandate amid pressure from Poilievre

The Conservative leader has called for the mandate to be lifted along with vaccine and testing rules for travellers, but the party's health critic admits the issue is complex.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is demanding an end to the vaccine mandate for military members, but his health critic suggested the situation might need a more nuanced approach.

Last week, Poilievre called for an end to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the Canadian Armed Forces, saying it was “obviously unscientific and contradictory” to keep that rule in place while ending the requirement for those crossing the border into Canada.

On Tuesday night, Poilievre circulated a video on Twitter of those comments from question period in the House of Commons on Sept. 23 and repeated his call for the rules to be changed.

“Many of the men and women who want to fight to defend our freedoms aren’t even free themselves to serve their country,” he added. “End all the COVID vaccine mandates, now.”

As of Saturday, the vaccine mandate for those in the Canadian military will be the last one left at the federal level. While Poilievre in his tweet pinned the responsibility for lifting them on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Department of National Defence says the choice is up to defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre.

“This is a CAF leadership decision by the chief of the defence staff, based on advice from the Canadian Armed Forces surgeon general,” Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said in an email.

“This is an institutional decision made to ensure operational readiness.”