Canada has been seeing a surge in military recruitment over the past five years, and B.C. is keeping pace with the rest of the country.
According to the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre (CFRC), more than 480 recruits enrolled in the military in the last year from the Lower Mainland alone.
And that number is even higher for the entire Pacific region, managing recruitment for B.C. and the Yukon.
“Last year, 2025/26 fiscal year, we enrolled out of the Lower Mainland Vancouver area 480, and for the CFRC Pacific, which is my higher headquarters, we had over 700 enrollees,” said Captain Joshua Register in an interview with 1130 NewsRadio.
Register works out of the CFRC Pacific headquarters in New Westminster.
He says that based on population, the Pacific detachments are well represented in terms of new recruits.
He attributes the high number to the increased wages and benefits the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) offers.
“We have had a consistent amount of interest and a high rate of applications for the last five years or so. We are a competitive occupation. We offer a lot of benefits.”
Register adds that his employer has recently introduced a competitive recruiting allowance and signing bonus that applies to several occupations that are most in need.
He says that many jobs in the military go far beyond holding a rifle in combat.
“And while that is certainly part of the mandate and expectation of being in the Canadian Armed Forces, everybody who joins does get that basic level of training and qualification when it comes to the occupation. We have a massive range of capabilities and requirements, and it reflects almost everything you could see on the civilian side in one way or another.”
Across the country, 7,310 new recruits enrolled for active service, an increase from 6,710 in the previous year.
Six years ago, the enrollment was down to 2,011.
In March this year, the federal government announced that Canada had reached its spending target of 2 per cent of GDP. Across the Department of National Defence (DND), the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and other government partners, Ottawa is spending $63 billion on defence in the 2025–26 fiscal year.
– With files from Ben Bouguerra.