Canada’s military says there has been a surge in new applications over the past year, a timeline that overlaps with repeated threats to Canada’s sovereignty from U.S. President Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence shared the breakdown of the data with Global News Wednesday, which shows a 12.9 per cent jump in applications, after Defence Minister David McGuinty on Tuesday told reporters about the increase.
“Thirteen per cent is 13 per cent more than it was a year ago,” McGuinty had said.
“I think applications are up because Canadians want to serve. Canadians are, I think, they’re very engaged in the project called ‘Canada’ right now. I think they want to make sure that Canada remains a secure and sovereign country.”
The Department of National Defence shared numbers for those who formally enrolled in the military as well as those who applied and those who registered, which means applications went a step further by providing their age, citizenship and education, according to the spokesperson.
Military enrollment topped 6,710 individuals from 2024 to 2025, which is up from 4,334 the previous year.
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From 2024 to 2025, the department says there were 77,431 applications, and 21,700 registrations. The year before, it was 70,616 applications and 12,269 registrations.
From 2022 to 2023, there were 43,934 applications and 9,856 registrations.
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The federal government plans to spend $73 billion on national defence by the end of the decade as part of efforts to meet aggressive NATO spending commitments, which was detailed in the 2025 budget.
Part of the defence spending increase includes just over $20 billion over five years to be put towards military recruitment and retention, which includes pay hikes and military health-care supports.
Before the unveiling of the budget in the fall, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last summer that military pay would be increasing as much as 20 per cent in addition to improved benefits and bonuses to be rolled out over the following 12 months.
Trump has imposed tariffs on virtually all countries over the past year, and even though the U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled some of those tariffs as illegal, most on Canada still remain. This includes Canadian imports of aluminum and steel products, lumber, automobiles and auto parts.
These tariffs have led many businesses in Canada to cut jobs, including General Motors and Algoma Steel.
He has also repeatedly suggested Canada could see all tariffs removed if it becomes the “51st” state.
Fifty-eight per cent of Canadians surveyed in a recent study said they no longer view the U.S. as a reliable ally. Nearly half of all Canadian respondents, or 48 per cent, said the U.S. was a bigger threat to peace amid the war in Ukraine than Russia.
–With a file from the Canadian Press.
If I was a younger man, I’d sign up. Canada is MY COUNTRY! Getting as tired of the anti Canada garbage I am the MAGAt garbage and American propaganda started by Trump against us. Come on USA, GET RID OF THE MENACE!!
So , in other words … Trump has lit a fire under the lazy , greedy , ignorant Canadian youth … Sign me up …
THOUSANDS of new soldiers …. 20% pay raise … what could go wrong !!