Canada’s Minister of National Defence has announced a review of a directive from 2025 that determines the languages used within military workplaces due to recent concerns. The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces modified rules in January 2025 regarding language requirements for internal activities and services like meetings and documents. Previously, units were categorized as English, French, or both.
According to a DND blog post in late July, organizations and units in unilingual regions faced challenges in meeting language obligations, leading to complaints and frustrations. With the implementation of the directive DAOD 5039-2 in January 2025, workplace language requirements were aligned with the language designation of the office location under the Official Languages Act. This meant that only workplaces in designated bilingual regions such as New Brunswick, the National Capital Region, and parts of northern Ontario were mandated to use English and French exclusively.
These changes did not impact communication with the public or military families. The military still promoted the use of both official languages to enhance inclusion and uphold Canada’s linguistic diversity.
Following media scrutiny and criticism from language advocates and opposition parties, Minister of National Defence David McGuinty stated that he is taking concerns about the directive seriously. He has initiated a review of workplace language designations to assess how language requirements have been implemented and determine if the current approach aligns with operational needs and respects the language rights of the Defence Team. The timeline for this review was not specified.
In response, the Conservative Party urged McGuinty to immediately reverse the changes, emphasizing that Francophone members should not lose the ability to work, lead, or progress professionally in French simply because they are stationed in predominantly English-speaking areas.