The Canadian Armed Forces Are Opening Their Doors To Permanent Residents

Permanent residents were previously eligible only under the Skilled Military Foreign Applicant (SMFA) entry program, which was “open to individuals … who would reduce the cost of training or fill a special need … such as a trained pilot or a doctor,” according to the Royal United Services Institute of Nova Scotia, a non-profit association of retired and active CAF members. The move also comes five years after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced it was changing its “antiquated recruitment process,” which will allow permanent residents who have lived in Canada for 10 years to apply. CAF sounded the alarm in September about a serious shortage of recruits to fill thousands of vacancies, filling about half the number of applicants it needs per month to meet its target of adding 5,900 members this year. Although the armed forces have not said whether the recent move is to boost recruitment, Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, says it makes sense. “In the past, CAF has had the luxury of being able to limit itself to civilians because it had enough applicants. That’s no longer the case,” Leuprecht told CTVNews.ca on Saturday in an email. “The CAF had resisted opening the ranks to permanent residents because it creates additional burdens and risks, for example in terms of security clearances.” But recruiting non-nationals is by no means new, he points out, arguing that many other countries have been doing it for years. “Countries such as France use military service as either a pathway to citizenship or an acceleration to citizenship; but given that Canadian citizenship is relatively easy for permanent residents to acquire, it is not clear that this will provide a significant incentive for Canadian case,” he said. In March, National Defense Minister Anita Anand said the CAF must be deployed if it is to meet global demands caused by Russia’s ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. “Time is of the essence in everything we do when so much is at stake for Canada and the world. We are facing the greatest threat to international peace and stability since the end of World War II,” he told a news conference at the time. “What can a country like ours, an incredible country like ours, bring to the table?” With files from The Canadian Press and CTVNews.ca’s Sarah Turnbull