How do Canadians view the military? Most see it as ‘old and antiquated,’ poll finds

An Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found 56 per cent of Canadians view the Armed Forces as 'old and antiquated,' with 75 per cent saying it needs more investment.

More than half of Canadians (56 per cent) see the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as “old and antiquated,” according to a recent Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News.

The findings are in line with polling the defence department conducted between Dec. 19, 2022 and Jan. 15, 2023. That phone and internet survey found only one in five Canadians saw the CAF as a modern institution, with 29 per cent saying it’s outdated.

Ipsos CEO Darrell Bricker says most respondents to its poll, conducted in June, said there is a way to shift this perspective: put more money into the armed forces.

“The solution to that, Canadians tell us, is probably giving them more money. And if they could just find their way through the, what Canadians see as incompetence and political interference … Canadians feel that they could get there. But at the moment, definitely not there,” Bricker told Global News.

Seventy-five per cent of those polled by Ipsos said Canada should increase defence spending to ensure Canada can protect its own territory and sovereignty.

The poll found there were a number of reasons spurring Canadians’ worries about military readiness.

Most Canadians said their concerns about defending Canada are directly related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (71 per cent) and China’s recent actions in the Taiwan Strait (69 per cent).

Retired major-general Denis Thompson says all branches of the Canadian Forces are in need of modernized equipment, such as frigates for the Navy and incoming F-35 fighter jets for the Air Force.