The Canadian government says more than 7,300 people signed up to join the military over the last year, beating Forces recruitment targets for a second year in a row. Defence Minister David McGuinty said Monday the recruitment figures are the highest numbers in more than 30 years. A significant number of these new enrollees are not Canadian citizens, but foreigners with permanent residency. In 2022, Canada opened military enlistment to permanent residents, a change that followed warnings from the country’s top soldier about a deepening personnel shortage. Last October, the federal Auditor-General in a report warned Canada is not recruiting enough Forces members to meet its operational needs. The minister credited the military pay hike announced last summer and changes to medical requirements for enlistment for helping to push up the numbers. McGuinty said that while the overall size of the military is growing, it remains some 3,600 regular force members short of its full authorized strength. Attrition stood at 8.5 per cent over the last fiscal year, according to National Defence. Conservative defence critic James Bezan said only 16 per cent of applicants were recruited and that the Forces continue to struggle with capacity #Canada #Defence #Military #canadianarmedforces