Reports of hateful or racist conduct in the Canadian military have spiked after years of decline, according to new data obtained by CBC News. Experts cite social and political influences for fuelling the uptick, including Donald Trump’s anti-DEI and immigration rhetoric.

Ottawa

Recent data obtained by CBC News indicates a resurgence in reports of hateful and racist conduct within the Canadian military, following several years of decline after a 2020 crackdown. The Defence Department figures show that incidents such as intimidation, threats, and involvement in hate propaganda spiked again in 2024, with experts linking the rise to broader political rhetoric and the military's demographic makeup.

Military leadership, including Lieutenant General Mike Wright, has voiced strong concern over the impact of these incidents on the Army's reputation and operational focus. Despite internal disciplinary processes and recent reforms, only a small fraction of reported cases have resulted in expulsion from the military, prompting ongoing efforts to address and prevent hateful conduct among personnel.

Reports of hateful, racist conduct in the Canadian military climb

Guns, explosives, ammunition. One of the largest weapons cache ever seized in a terrorism case on Canadian soil. Four men with ties to the military charged last month over an alleged plot to take over Quebec land. In his first broadcast interview about the case, the Army's commander says incidents like this are causing self-harm. I think the soldiers of the Canadian Army should be as livid as I am about the impact that this is having on their reputation. New data obtained by CBC News shows a resurgence of hateful conduct last year. The Defence Department figures reveal that since the military cracked down on hateful conduct in 2020, the number of incidents dropped year after year, but then spiked again in 2024. Most of the claims are of intimidation, threats, and involvement in hate propaganda. There's a link between that rise and the election of Donald Trump. They're poisoning the blood of our country. Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric and opposition to diversity and inclusion is empowering some, according to this professor. He says he interviewed a former Canadian Armed Forces member just like this. He said he learned, he went into the military to learn how to kill brown and black people. And that was, to me, very disturbing. Experts say the military's still predominantly white men, which makes it especially vulnerable. To those sorts of narratives that are trying to explain or trying to convince them somehow that white men have been left behind. Lieutenant General Mike Wright says hateful conduct must be rooted out. Something I probably shouldn't say on CBC, but pisses me off, is that the important work that the Canadian Army needs to do to modernize, our eye is being taken off that, our focus is being taken off that, so we can deal with completely unacceptable and inappropriate behavior. Lieutenant General Wright says he's touring bases across the country this month, and this is now the first issue that he plans on talking to the Army about. The military has made a series of changes in recent years, including now having a longer probationary period to try and weed out problematic new recruits. Ashley, what else do we know about how these cases are being handled? Well, Heather, the military often handles these incidents internally with its own administrative and disciplinary process. The data we obtained shows that over the past five years, there have been 364 hateful conduct incidents reported, and so far only 21 of them have led to military members being kicked out. Ashley, thank you. Ashley Burke is in Ottawa.

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