A growing number of Canadian soldiers, sailors, and air crew are choosing to end their military careers, driven out by a severe shortage of adequate housing and access to basic healthcare, according to a newly revealed internal report.
Retention Crisis Driven by Personal Hardships
The internal document, titled Evaluation Of Canadian Armed Forces Retention and reported by Blacklock's Reporter, paints a stark picture of the personal sacrifices driving personnel away. The report highlights that in 2024 alone, over 10% of all Canadian Armed Forces members were relocated, a process that often plunges them into financial and personal turmoil.
The core issues identified are a toxic combination of sky-high housing costs exacerbated by a lack of military housing, the loss of spousal employment after a move, critical shortages of primary healthcare providers, and a severe lack of daycare spaces. For modern military families, many of which depend on two incomes, the prospect of a geographic move has become increasingly untenable.
Daunting Waitlists for Basic Necessities
The report sheds light on the incredibly long waiting lists that relocating families face. At some military bases, the wait for a daycare spot could stretch to 32 months. The situation for housing was described as even more dire, with waiting lists exceeding that daunting timeframe.
Researchers found that many personnel would rather hand in their resignation than subject their families to starting over on new waiting lists for these essential services. The attrition rate for junior ranks, which includes many young parents, was recorded at 9.4%, signaling a worrying trend for the future of the forces.
Auditor General Confirms Deplorable Housing Conditions
These findings are compounded by a damning October 21 study from Auditor General Karen Hogan, which rated some military housing as unfit for habitation. Hogan described inspecting 45 buildings on three bases, with an average age of over 60 years—one was built in 1930.
She reported encountering units with non-working toilets and structural damage to exterior walls. The audit, Housing Canadian Armed Forces Members, found that 3,706 military personnel were on waiting lists for just 205 available residential units.
As Canada's second-largest landlord, the Department of National Defence manages a vast portfolio of 21,000 buildings. A separate 2024 Audit Of Defence Infrastructure noted that approximately 25% of this infrastructure is more than 50 years old and requires significant repair and modernization to meet basic health, safety, and environmental standards.
