The Canadian Armed Forces are more than a quarter below “target strength” with resignations and poor enlistment rates, says a Department of National Defence briefing note. New recruits average just 7,600 a year.

“This is a challenging economic time for the Canadian Armed Forces,” said the December 7 note Supplementary Estimates (B). “We are focused on targeted retention, especially for specialized technicians, to provide immediate support to critical military capabilities that are most impacted by personnel shortages.”

Targeted strength was