The Typical Reservist

A snapshot of the typical Canadian armed forces reservist. Things we know.

Overview of the Reserve Force as of 31 March 2024. Strength of the Reserve Force by Sub-Component: 29, 182 in the Primary Reserve which breaks down to 4,203 in the Naval Reserve, 19,776 in the Army Reserve, 2,050 in the Air Reserve, 70 in the Judge Advocate General Reserve, 1,340 in the Health Services Reserve, 469 Military Police Reserve, and 1,274 Military Personnel Command PRL, National Defence Headquarters PRL, and others. There are 4,961 Canadian Rangers, 5,945 Cadet Organization Administration and Training Service, and 4,394 Supplementary Reserve. The total Reserve Force is 44,482.

Primary Reserve Demographics.

By age groups, with a median age of 32 years old, 24.2% are 17-24 years old, 35.3% are 25-34 years old, 17.0% are 35-44 years old, and 23.5% are 45+ years old.

By education level: 19.5% high school diploma, 28.6% college degree, 25.3% bachelors level degree, 7.5% masters level degree, 1.3% doctorate, and 17.8% other (includes partial completions).

Type of service: 73.4% which is 21,408 members are Class A, 22.9% which is 6,688 members are Class B, and 3.7% which is 1,086 members are Class C.

By length of service: 33.7% have 1-4 years of service, 41.5% have 5-14 years of service, 15.1% have 15-24 years of service, and 9.7% have 25+ years of service. Approximately 50% of Primary Reserve members continue to serve after five years of service.

By first official language: 76% are English and 24% are French. Diversity statistics of the Primary Reserve: 82.6% male, 17.4% female, 3.0% Indigenous peoples, 14.2% visible minorities.

Geography of the Primary Reserve: Regular Force, Canadian Rangers and Primary Reserve unit locations identified on a map of Canada. Canada has 10 provinces, 3 territories, 9.9M square km in size, has 6 time zones, 244,000 km of coastline, and a population of 40.7M. 97% of Canadians live within a 45-minute drive of a Primary Reserve Unit. 89.6% of Primary Reserve members live within 50km of their home unit. There are over 200 Primary Reserve units/locations across over 100 communities throughout Canada.

Primary Reservist Contribution: time frame for a Primary Reserve member to reach Occupational Functional Point is typically within two summers of individual training.  Reservists with deployment: 48% of the Primary Reserve have deployed at least once in their career. Primary Reserve participation in CAF Operations as of 6 May 2024: 126 Op Reassurance, 101 Op Impact, 77 Op Unifier, 33, Op Distinction, 9 Op Caribbe, 26 Other.

Work-life balance as a member of the Primary Reserve: Hours worked per week in the CAF, 2019 and 2020 data, 0-10 hours has increased from 19.0% to 24.1%, 11-19 hours has increased from 8.1% to 10.8%, 20-29 hours has increased from 10.8% to 12.8%, 30-39 hours has increased from 12.2% to 12.8%, 40-49 hours has decreased from 36.8% to 30.9%, over 50 hours has decreased from 13.2% to 8.7%.

Hours worked per week in total (military and civilian), 2019 and 2020 data, 0-10 hours has increased from 2.4% to 5.0%, 11-19 hours has increased from 2.2% to 3.1%, 20-29 hours has increased from 5.2% to 7.0%, 30-39 hours has increased from 9.4% to 11.3%, 40-49 hours has decreased from 42.1% to 36.9%, and over 50 hours has decreased from 38.6% to 36.7%. The two statistics of working over 40 hours per week are highlighted.

Days away from home in past six months, 2019 and 2020 data, 0-20 days has increased from 60.9% to 79.0%, 21-40 days has decreased from 16.6% to 5.3%, 41-60 has decreased from 10.0% to 4.6%, 61-80 has decreased from 4.7% to 3.8%, 81-100 has increased from 2.8% to 3.1%, and over 101 has decreased from 5.1% to 4.2%. The first two statistics of less than 40 days away from home in the past six months are highlighted.

Reserve Force beyond the numbers: 1. Who – Reservists are everyday Canadians who mainly serve part-time as members of the Canadian Armed Forces and typically have full-time civilian jobs or studies. 2. What – Reserve service is about military operations and undertaking the necessary individual and team training, and being ready when called upon. 3. When – Reserve service is mostly part-time, and complementary to full-time civilian work or studies. In times of need, reservists can work with the military full-time for a defined period. 4. Where – Reservists are located across the country, in the communities where they live. They can serve both at home and abroad. 5. Why – Reservists join the Canadian Armed forces for many reasons. Service is fundamentally about being ready to serve and defend Canada and Canadian interests at home and abroad.

Where should we go next? What are we missing? How can we leverage unique competencies acquired through employment duality? What can be done to promote diversity and inclusion within the Reserve Force? Can the Reserve Force provide new capabilities for the Canadian Armed Forces?

Infographic produced by the Canadian Armed Forces, National Defence, Canada.