
More soldiers, more money. Canada's top soldier extols benefits of spending boost
NATO leaders — including Canada — have approved a plan to dramatically increase defence spending across the Western alliance to five per cent of gross domestic product over the next decade.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the move to five per cent of GDP — 3.5 per cent for core military spending and 1.5 per cent for defence-related infrastructure — will take place over the next 10 years.
In an interview with The Canadian Press Saturday, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan said work is underway to figure out how to distribute the almost 20 per cent pay hikes promised by Defence Minister David McGuinty.
'It's an envelope that will be adapting to what we need. Some of it will be a pay increase, some of it will be for benefit allowances for specific trades or specific functions,' Carignan said.
'Yes there will be a raise this year. Yes that's the aim so we want everything to be ready for the fall and winter time.'
Carignan said the amount of the pay hike will depend on a soldier's rank and allowances will be allocated to specific trades where CAF needs more people.
'For example recruiting and training is a priority. We want to make sure we encourage instructors in our schools so they're going to be additional benefits as an example,' she said.
Chief Warrant Officer Bob McCann said the extra pay and benefits will be a morale booster for military personnel.
'We're in a great space right now where there's a lot of attention on defence. For the troops this is outstanding because this is why we joined. We want to serve. We want to be part of Canada's defence,' McCann said.
'We want to have equipment to train so everything that's coming is truly positive and we do have 107 trades that are highly competitive with the civilian industry so getting folks in, getting them trained, takes the pressure off the troops that are already there.'
Carignan said it's been a good year for recruiting with the CAF surpassing its objective by 2,000 for the first time in 10 years. She said fewer people are leaving the service as well. About 18 per cent of the new recruits are women.
'A very good retention rate and a lot more people coming in which means we are growing at CAF at the moment and very positive.'
Carignan said plans are in place to boost the number of military personnel.
'We are focusing on going back to our full complement of regular Canadian Armed Forces members and reserve force so it's 30,000 reserves we are aiming for and 71,500 regular forces,' she said.
'We have additional positions that are also approved and as time goes by and we are close to our ceiling we will add additional forces.'
Carignan said the extra funding will help keep Canada safe.
'Our geography does not protect us as well as it used to. We need to have more investment to actually exercise our own sovereignty here in Canada and of course this implies the Arctic,' she said.
'It is getting more contested, more traffic, more people interested in this area so of course we have to invest more in the Arctic to make sure our sovereignty is respected.'
Carignan wants to see more radar bases and being able to scramble jets or ships if required.
'We have to have the sensors in place — once you have seen you have to have the ability to intercept or actually act,' she said.
'This is all building blocks that goes to our providing that defensive posture we need to have in the Arctic.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Britain and France must shoulder burden of keeping Europe safe, Macron says in historic parliament address
Emmanuel Macron urged Britain and France 'to shoulder the burden of European security' together as he appealed for the two nations to work more closely on issues including defence and the migrant crisis. The French president delivered his remarks as the first European leader to receive a state visit to Britain and address both Houses of Parliament since Brexit was finalised in 2020. In a passionate address, Mr Macron made clear the events that saw the UK leave the EU are in the past, and he hailed Sir Keir Starmer – whom he referred to as 'dear Keir' – for his reset of the relations. While he listed the economy, climate change and the immigration crisis as areas for cooperation, he put the need to defend Europe at the top of the agenda. In particular, he asserted that Europe would 'never accept that might is right' and would resist the Russian president's attempts to subjugate Ukraine. 'Every time Vladimir Putin's Russia advances in Ukraine, the threat moves closer to us all,' he warned, underlining the importance of a summit he and Sir Keir will host jointly on Thursday to help strengthen a 'coalition of the willing' to ensure any peace settlement there. However, with Nato members agreeing to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence and the US withdrawing its support under Donald Trump, President Macron said that the UK and France must be the pillars on which European defence is built. He said: 'Our two countries, the only European nuclear weapon states, the leading armed forces of the continent, together accounting for 40 per cent of European military budgets, both fully shoulder the responsibility when it comes to European security. 'And we are faced with new threats, with aggressive nuclear powers, with sometimes hesitating alliances, and the return of major conflict on our continent. This is why, in two days, our summit is so important, and the announcement we prepared so historical,' he said in an address to UK parliamentarians. He said there is an expectation that the UK and France, 'faced with revisionist neighbours', have a 'special responsibility for the security of the continent'. While President Macron, who was accompanied by his wife Brigitte, said that Brexit was 'deeply regrettable', he celebrated the return of a close bond between the two countries, which he saw as the pivotal relationship in Europe. He appealed to MPs and peers gathered in the Royal Gallery to 'not let the Channel grow any wider'. In a sideswipe at populists, the European statesman, who has refused to meet Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, also drew inspiration from Winston Churchill's vision of 'a world order based on law, justice and respect for territorial integrity' that was 'today being attacked on a daily basis as we witness direct attacks on our democracies, the return of war on our continent, the resurgence of imperial impulses and the flouting of international rules by destabilising powers'. He also hailed an exchange of museum artefacts, which will see the Bayeux Tapestry displayed in the British Museum next year and the Sutton Hoo treasure to go to France, 'as the beginning of this new era of exchange and the reopening of these mutual movements'. He said it is time to 'make sure that not only our two countries will save themselves by their own exertions, but also that we will save Europe by our example and our solidarity'. The state visit is the first to the UK by an EU head of state since Brexit, and the first to be held at Windsor, rather than Buckingham Palace, for more than a decade, thanks to ongoing refurbishments at the London residence. While the speech to MPs and peers was part of his visit, the focus of the evening was a state banquet hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla. The honour was granted ahead of Donald Trump receiving his second state visit to Britain which is expected to take place in September. However, as well as the ceremonies and pageantry, the French president is due to settle down to discuss serious political business, with Sir Keir desperate to save his plan for a 'one in, one out' deal to tackle the small boats. The proposal is on the point of collapse because of French domestic politics and objections from other EU partners but the prime minister is under pressure to stop the small boats crossing with migrants. In his speech, Mr Macron referred to the 'closest ever cooperation' to end the crisis, but did not mention Sir Keir's hoped-for deal. In the first six months, 20,000 migrants came across the Channel from France amid frustration that the French authorities are failing to tackle the problem at source. Earlier, the King and Queen rolled out the red carpet for the Macrons in Windsor. Charles and Camilla warmly greeted the French leader and the first lady on a specially constructed royal dais near the town's Windsor and Eton Riverside train station, with the castle in the backdrop. Nearly 400 military personnel from the army, RAF and Royal Navy lined the high street along the ceremonial route, while a 41-gun salute sounded in nearby Home Park in Mr Macron's honour to mark his arrival. The Prince and Princess of Wales accompanied the visitors after meeting them at RAF Northolt in west London on Tuesday morning.

Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Turkish court jails mayor of opposition-run Adana pending trial as crackdown widens
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -A Turkish court on Tuesday ruled the mayor of the southern city of Adana should be held in jail pending trial on corruption charges, broadcaster NTV reported, as a legal crackdown on the main opposition continues. Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar was detained on Saturday as part of a corruption probe into opposition-run municipalities, which has expanded dramatically from its roots in Istanbul. In March, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, was also jailed pending trial over corruption charges. As part of the widening crackdown, a separate court ruled to put under house arrest, pending trial, the mayor of the southern city of Adiyaman, Abdurrahman Tutdere. The mayor of the district of Manavgat in the southern resort province of Antalya was also jailed pending trial over suspected bribery and corruption charges. The Interior Ministry later said the mayor had been suspended from his duty over the arrest. All the mayors, from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), have denied the charges against them. The CHP, some Western countries and rights groups have called the arrests part of a politicised attempt by the government to remove electoral threats against Erdogan. Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas, also from the CHP, said after the arrest of Karalar that the mayor's arrest was "part of different calculations" and not a sound legal process. "We are not against prosecution. However, we want a fair, independent and unbiased prosecution. Because the law does not bend or twist according to the time or politics," he said on X. The government denies influencing the judiciary and says the courts operate independently to investigate a ring of corruption at the municipalities.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Some Europeans still travel to Iran, ignoring dire warnings
Brushing aside increasingly urgent official warnings to stay clear of Iran, some European tourists still head to the Islamic Republic, which is accused by Western governments of practicing "hostage diplomacy". Lennart Monterlos, an 18-year-old French-German national who disappeared while biking across the country on a tour from Europe to Asia last month, is the latest possible target of unwarranted Iranian arrests. The French foreign ministry called the case "worrying", and government minister Laurent Saint-Martin, whose portfolio includes French nationals living abroad, said "Iran pursues a deliberate policy of taking Western hostages". The minister did not say whether Monterlos had indeed been arrested by the Iranian authorities, who are believed currently to hold around 20 European nationals. The French foreign ministry's list of French or French-Iranian nationals registered to be in Iran either as residents or visitors has about 1,000 names, but the real number is likely higher, given that there is no obligation to check in with the consulate. Ingrid, who is in her 50s and asked for her last name to be withheld, said she had been to Iran three times already without notifying the foreign ministry. "I was aware of the ministry's travel warnings but I didn't pay attention," she told AFP, saying she did not believe her "profile" exposed her to arrest. - 'I don't care' - She said she always has a valid visa on her trips, told the Iranian authorities where she would stay and wore a headscarf, in line with Iran's strict dress code for women. She was always under heavy surveillance in Iran, she said, "but I don't care". Aymeric, a 25-year-old Frenchman who also declined to have his last name published, has a "special affinity" with Iran because one of his best friends is from there. In 2023, he went cycling there for a month. "I wasn't worried, although I knew that French people were being held in Iran," he told AFP. Aymeric says he took some precautions, using his mobile phone and his camera as little as possible, staying off social media, making no comment on politics and avoiding striking up friendships with women. Since, however, he has come to see it as "very naive" to assume he could avoid all dangers. "At the end of the day, it is not just about how you yourself behave," he said. Francois-Henri Deserable, a French writer, said he visited Iran in late 2022 "to bear witness to what was going on out there" during protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurd detained for an alleged breach of the dress code for women. "I think it would be reckless to take such risks just to take selfies in the Persepolis ruins," he said. Jean-Francois Rial, CEO of travel company Voyageurs du Monde, said it stopped sending clients to Iran "months or even years ago", adding it would be "irresponsible" to organise trips there. Most people still visiting Iran did so "on their own initiative" and were "uncontrollable", Rial said. In stark contrast to current risks of arrest, Iran is widely considered an attractive destination when it comes to personal safety, including for women and solo travellers, and interactions with ordinary Iranians are mostly friendly. "The hospitality is extraordinary, there'll always be someone to take care of you," said Aymeric, adding that this could create the impression "that there's nothing to fear" when travelling in Iran. That sentiment is shared by Ingrid. "I feel safer in any big Iranian city than in Paris," she said. dt/jh/ah/jhb