PM Carney to support our Forces with long-overdue pay raise

The new Canadian government is getting to work on rebuilding, modernizing and strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said in June the government would invest more than $9 billion to make sure our military has the tools and resources they need to keep Canadians safe and protect our international commitments. This includes supporting those who serve our country in uniform.

For 30 years, Canada’s Armed Forces (CAF) has faced increased mission demands, without seeing a commensurate increase in resources or compensation.

They are the men and women who stand up for Canadian sovereignty, keep Canadians safe and project strength in our alliances overseas and they deserve a salary to match the weight of their responsibilities, reads the release.

Prime Minister Carney has announced that every member of the Canadian Armed Forces will receive a long overdue pay raise, the largest in a generation.

“The women and men of our Canadian Armed Forces make Canada strong, and today we are investing in that strength. With a pay raise for every single CAF member, we are strengthening our military, recognizing their sacrifice, and giving service members the resources, confidence, and certainty they need to serve,” said Prime Minister Carney.

The media release says there will be a pay raise on top of base salary that will go retroactive to April 1, 2025, which means all service members will have more money in their pockets.

The increase will represent an 8 per cent pay raise for colonels and above, 13 per cent for lieutenant-colonels and below, and starting pay for Regular Force privates will be 20 per cent higher.

“Recruitment and retention of Canadian Armed Forces members are my top priorities, and I welcome today’s announcement. Enhanced compensation and benefits will help lower the impact of military lifestyle on military families, bring some financial stability to our members, and incentivize Canadians and permanent residents to serve our country. Our military needs well-trained, motivated, and dedicated people to deliver on our mandate to defend Canada and Canadians,” stated General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff in a media release.

We will also see the introduction of a new Military Service Pay benefit that will recognize years of service, and make sure service member pay cheques take into account time in uniform.

Rolling out over the next year, among other forms of additional compensation, will be benefits to help support the reality of frequent relocations and family separations that help the government “attract and retain our best instructors at our training schools.”

There will also be pay raises for CAF members taking part in combat training, and hazard pay for service during natural disaster response.

“We have seen, time and time again, no matter the situation, no matter the danger, the Canadian Armed Forces will always answer the call. Our Forces members are second to none, and they deserve a pay raise to recognize their service in defending Canadians and asserting our sovereignty,” said David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence.

These pay raises and new incentives will improve recruitment and retention, increase the readiness of our forces, and give our service members the confidence and stability they need to continue their critical work.