Canada’s Minister of Defence has announced plans to review a directive from 2025 that dictates the use of languages within military workplaces, citing recent concerns. The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces made changes to language rules in January 2025 regarding the languages to be used for internal activities and services like meetings and documents. Previously, units were categorized as English, French, or both.
According to a blog post by the DND in late July, many organizations and units in unilingual regions faced challenges in meeting language requirements, leading to complaints and frustrations. The directive, officially known as DAOD 5039-2, came into effect in January 2025, aligning internal language requirements with the language designation of the office location under the Official Languages Act.
Under the new rules, only workplaces in designated bilingual regions, such as New Brunswick, the National Capital Region, and parts of northern Ontario, are required to use English and French exclusively for communication. However, these changes do not impact communication with the public or military families. The military continues to promote the use of both official languages to enhance inclusivity and uphold Canada’s linguistic diversity.
The recent blog post criticizing the directive drew attention from the media and advocates, as well as critics of official languages from opposition parties who viewed it as a weakening of French language protection within a major federal department. Responding to these concerns, Minister of National Defence David McGuinty announced a review of workplace language designations, emphasizing the importance of examining the application of language requirements and ensuring they align with operational needs and respect the language rights of the Defence Team.
Although no specific timeline was provided for the review, the Conservative Party called for an immediate repeal of the changes, highlighting the importance of allowing Francophone members to work, lead, and progress in French even in predominantly English-speaking regions.