Ethnic infighting has erupted at Canadian military basic training amid a massive recent influx of non-citizen recruits, according to a damning leaked internal report.
The Canadian Armed Forces first allowed permanent residents to join in 2022, and then relaxed vetting rules in October 2024, resulting in dramatic rise in foreign recruits. Aptitude tests have also been removed, and candidates can enrol with a set list of approved medical issues, including mental health problems.
But the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School report obtained by Juno News, titled “Initial Observations – Impact of Changes to Canadian Armed Forces Recruiting Policies at Basic Training Over 2025”, found the changes had a devastating effect on basic officer training at the Quebec centre.
The document, written by school Commandant and Lieutenant Colonel M.R. Kieley in January, stated that a cohort of more than 1,000 permanent residents arriving at the beginning of 2025 was a “challenging demographic to train”, and noted there were also a large number of recently naturalised Canadian citizens.
The influx of non-citizen candidates resulted in a French-language Basic Military Officer Qualification (BMOQ) platoon that was made up of 83% permanent residents, while English-language platoons were typically in the 30% range.
“These initial platoons were also made up of candidates with as little as three months residency in Canada, leading to a significant culture shock as candidates had not yet acclimatised to Canadian society, let alone military culture,” the report stated.
“[The Francophone] platoon was plagued by allegations of racism (from candidates against staff but equally candidates against other candidates) and constant infighting between cultural blocs within the platoon (ie. Cameroonian candidates against those from Cote D’Ivorie).
“English permanent resident-heavy platoons suffered from low fitness levels but generally demonstrated quick adaptation to the military environment.”
The report stated that permanent residents and “new Canadians” suffered from “weak oral interaction abilities”, lacked realistic expectations about training, and were “more likely to imagine a CAF officer position as a public service job, rather than a military occupation”.
“Specific cultural issues have also been a challenge in training permanent resident platoons,” the report stated.
“For many candidates it is the first time they have lived with members of a different sex, and for some it is also the first time they have been expected to treat women as their peers.”
The report noted that surveys completed by candidates reported “inter-candidate cultural frustrations, with lack of respect towards women being the most common concern”.
Instructors at the school reported the most difficulties with BMOQ platoons, with those dealing with French-language platoons disproportionately affected.
“On English BMOQ platoons, where the average platoon has been made up of ~25% permanent residents, instructors focus on the challenges encountered by candidates who can’t adequately speak the language of their enrollment but rarely identify cultural adaptation challenges,” the report stated.
“On French BMOQ platoons, where permanent residents have made up 50-80% of all candidates, there have been more emotional responses, with Francophone staff openly raising the question of whether it is appropriate for officer commissions to be granted to non-Canadian citizens.”
The report concluded by recommending that formal first official language testing be brought in for all permanent residents and recently naturalised citizens, along with a maximum permanent resident percentage of 20-25%.
The report also recommended re-establishing aptitude testing, new measures to prevent candidates with mental health issues from enrolling, and the re-establishment of fitness testing as part of the recruitment process.
The leak of the report came a week after the Canadian government boasted that recruitments targets had been exceeded for the second year in a row, while in October last year the military announced it had surpassed its targets for recruiting “visible minorities” and indigenous people.
Header image: Members of the Canadian Army (CAF).
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