Military members are seen during a parade at the Calgary Stampede

 

Military members are seen during a parade at the Calgary Stampede. In an effort to boost recruitment and retention, the government is boosting pay for those in the Canadian Armed Forces. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

The Liberal government announced its long-promised pay increase for members of the Canadian military on Friday, unveiling a graduated series of salary top-ups and incentives that will help the lowest-ranking soldiers, sailors and aircrew the most.

Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered the news during a media availability at the country's largest military airbase in Trenton, Ont., fulfilling a leadership and campaign promise.

The pay and allowance increase will cost $2 billion per year and the pay bumps are retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year in April. This spending is part of the additional $9 billion for defence that Carney announced earlier this year to meet Canada's NATO commitment.

"These increases in paying incentives will help us to revitalize and transform recruitment and retention to bolster force readiness, and to ensure that members in uniform have the confidence and certainty that they need," Carney said.

"It's a generational shift. And we're proud of it."

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in June that he intended to spend an additional $9 billion on defence this fiscal year. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

Senior defence officials, speaking on background at a technical briefing prior to the prime minister's announcement, said the last comprehensive overhaul of the pay and benefits system took place a generation ago in 1998.

Several weeks ago, Defence Minister David McGuinty had suggested the pay increase would be 20 per cent across the board. Carney had also suggested the same, raising a great deal of expectation in the ranks. 

On Friday, Carney defended the decision not to issue an across-the-board increase.

WATCH | Military commander on staffing shortfall: 

The Canadian Armed Forces is still short some 13,000 troops, but top soldier Gen. Jennie Carignan says the military is working to modernize the recruitment process to boost those numbers. Carignan also said despite recent tensions, Canada-U.S. military ties are ‘solid.’

The way the new system unrolls, the lowest ranks of the regular force — private, ordinary sailors and aviators — will get a 20 per cent boost (if they serve reserves the increase will be 13 per cent). Non-commissioned members, junior officers up to the rank of naval commander or lieutenant-colonel, will receive a 13 per cent pay hike. For officers of the rank of colonel and above, the increase will be eight per cent.

To recruit and hold on to people, there will be a bonus of $10,000 to complete basic training, an additional $20,000 when training is completed and another $20,000 once they have completed their first term of service.