Canadian Armed Forces says it’s on track to meet this year’s recruitment goal [Video]

Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff, participates in an interview in her office at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa on January 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

More Canadians have expressed an interest in joining the military since U.S. President Donald Trump took office — but the Canadian Armed Forces isn’t attributing that spike to Trump and his talk of annexing Canada.

The Canadian Armed Forces received roughly 1,000 more applications over the last month than it did in the same month in 2024.

Military officials say they won’t have data explaining why the numbers are up for some time.

The military has been working to change its recruitment practices and get applicants into uniform faster.

It’s been dealing with a severe personnel shortage for more than two years and is now short around 13,500 troops.

But Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff, says the numbers …