Canada’s defense minister has announced a review of a 2025 directive that regulates the use of languages in military workplaces due to recent concerns. In January 2025, the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces revised the rules governing language usage for internal activities and services within the military. Previously, units were categorized as English, French, or both, leading to challenges in meeting language obligations in unilingual regions, resulting in complaints and frustrations.
The updated directive, DAOD 5039-2, which took effect in January 2025, aligned internal language requirements with the language designation of the office location under the Official Languages Act. This change meant that only workplaces in designated bilingual regions, such as New Brunswick, the National Capital Region, and parts of northern Ontario, were required to use English and French exclusively for communication.
These modifications did not impact communication with the public or military families. The military continued to encourage the use of both official languages to promote inclusivity and uphold Canada’s linguistic diversity.
Following criticism and media scrutiny after a blog post in July, Minister of National Defence David McGuinty acknowledged the concerns regarding the directive and has initiated a review of workplace language designations. The review aims to assess the application of language-of-work requirements and evaluate if the current approach aligns with operational needs and respects the language rights of the Defence Team.
The minister’s statement did not specify a timeline for the review process.
