Canada faces ‘critical gaps’ on military combat ammunition: AG warns

It will take several years to bring the Canadian military’s stockpile of ammunition up to where it should be, according to a new report from the auditor general.

With the current gaps, the financial watchdog said Canada is far behind on its commitments made to its NATO allies for collective defence.

In the report, released Thursday, Canada’s Auditor General Karen Hogan said a flawed inventory management system, dysfunctional data analysis and contracts plagued with inefficiencies has resulted in the Department of National Defence (DND) not knowing how much ammunition it has or needs, or how to get more.

“These findings are like the importance of sound planning and acting on known problems before an emergency occurs,” she told reporters Thursday. “Responding to immediate needs is important, but so is being prepared for future challenges.”

“It’s time for National Defence to get all these administrative matters ironed out so that they can make the best use of the funding that they have.”

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The auditor general’s office first started sounding the alarm on the inefficiencies two decades ago. In 2024, the government dedicated $9.2 billion over 13 years to support strategic stockpile replenishment.

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But Hogan said the current pace at which contracts are being awarded is not sufficient to meet demands.

Public Services and Procurement Canada had four strategic source agreements with Canadian companies to produce ammunition through the Munitions Supply Program, according to the audit. But two of those four agreements had expired over three years ago, Hogan said.

The report found there is a major discrepancy in the supply of munitions for training exercises and munitions to be used in combat.

Five Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) groups accounted for 87 per cent of the total regular-use ammunition assigned by quantity in the 2023-24 to 2025-26 fiscal years, the report said.

Within those groups, only 56 per cent of their assigned regular‑use ammunition was used in the same period.

Hogan said some of the excess inventory can be used in an emergency, but not all training ammunition is lethal.

The auditor general looked at 100 different types of stockpile admission and found it was lacking required types and quantities required to meet targeted operational requirements.

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“For national security reasons, I can’t talk to you about the specifics of where there are critical gaps, but there are critical gaps in some of the ammunition,” Hogan said.

In response to the report, Defence Minister David McGuinty said he agrees with the auditor general’s six recommendations and is already acting upon them.

“We’re going to have to make sure we marry that production capacity with the storage, transportation and use of information,” he said. “There’s progress to be made and we intend to fully implement these recommendations.”