Canadians leaders call on Ottawa to support national youth service programme with military training

A group of prominent Canadians is urging the federal government to support plans for a voluntary National Youth Service programme that would include basic military training.

Engage Canada submitted a proposal to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance in May, seeking support to develop the programme. Under the proposal, young people aged 18-25 would complete the military training before serving in areas such as emergency preparedness, climate resilience and community service.

The proposal has attracted support from business, military, Indigenous, academic and community leaders, including former Quebec premier Jean Charest, former British Columbia premier Christy Clark, Paralympian Rick Hansen and Chief Wilton Littlechild.

Michael Burns, chair of Engage Canada, said the initiative is designed to address two challenges facing the country: helping young people transition into the workforce while strengthening Canada’s ability to respond to national needs.

“I think Canada is facing two significant challenges at the same time,” he said in an interview with National Post. “First, young people are entering adulthood without a clear pathway for employment. A lot of them are lacking skills, a sense of purpose, resiliency, and a sense of belonging.

“The second is that the country has some urgent national needs, including emergency preparedness, climate resiliency, community service, support for seniors, defence, and security issues. A modern national service program for youth could help address both those things. It would give young Canadians a meaningful paid opportunity to serve and build their future, while also strengthening Canada’s capacity to respond to national challenges that we face today.”

Engage Canada is asking the federal government to allocate $18.75 million over two years in Budget 2026 to support the programme, which would include a competitive application process and compensation for participants’ work — though Burns says the question of what would be a fair wage is yet to be determined.

The organization argues that the proposal comes at a time when Canada is “debating sovereignty, defence readiness, labour shortages, emergency preparedness, and how to better prepare the next generation for civic leadership.”

Its supporters say that Canada must invest in human infrastructure as well as physical infrastructure in order to build a stronger country.

And public opinion polling suggests some elements of the proposal would receive broad support. Last year, a survey from the Angus Reid Institute found that Canadians were overwhelmingly in favour of mandatory national service across a number of fields, which the poll defined as one year of time donated for those younger than 30 years of age.

For example, 74 per cent favoured a year of public health support service, 73 per cent were in favour of environmental support service, 72 per cent for youth service support, and civil protection had 70 per cent in favour.

The numbers dropped, however, when respondents were asked about compulsory military service. In this category, only 43 per cent were in favour.

While Engage Canada proposes basic military training at the beginning of the programme, which it calls a “critical feature of the model,” Burns emphasized participation would remain voluntary.

He said the military component would provide participants with practical skills while creating a shared experience that brings together young Canadians from across the country.

“That shared experience is going to bring young people from B.C. to Ontario, from Newfoundland and Labrador to work together and be around folks that perhaps they haven’t had exposure to,” he said. “That social cohesion is an important element in our plan.”

If Engage Canada’s proposal is successful, Canada won’t be the only country to have utilized this type of model to engage citizens. Germany and France both introduced voluntary national service for young people last year, while Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark all have forms of conscription, meaning enlisting in national service is mandatory for certain demographics of the population.

Burns told National Post that Nordic models such as these provide the best examples, because of their structure, selectivity and focus on service.

“The (model) that we really liked the best was Finland,” he said. “They’re very motivated to make sure that their young people are properly trained, not just in terms of military service, but also in other things like community readiness.”

Engage Canada submitted its proposal to the federal government in the hopes that it will be considered in part of the budget in the fall. But, as well as government support, Burns hopes the proposal will encourage Canadians more broadly to get behind the initiative, too.

“When (participants) come out of this, they’re going to learn new skills, build up resiliency, and have a broader network,” he said. “They’re going to be exposed to new issues and people across the country, and I think, more than anything, they’re going to feel that they’re part of something bigger than just themselves and have a lifelong commitment to this country.”

• Canadians overwhelmingly in favour of mandatory national service, poll finds
• Susan McArthur: Mandatory national service would fix what ails Canada

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