Canada’s Minister of National Defence has announced a review of a 2025 directive that dictates the use of languages in military workplaces due to recent concerns. The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces modified regulations in January 2025 regarding language usage for internal activities and services like meetings and documents. Previously, units were categorized as English, French, or both.
According to a DND blog post from late July, many organizations in unilingual regions faced challenges meeting language requirements, leading to complaints and frustrations. The directive, officially referred to as DAOD 5039-2, went into effect in January 2025, aligning internal language standards with the language designation of the office location under the Official Languages Act.
Under the new directive, only workplaces in designated bilingual regions, such as New Brunswick, the National Capital Region, and parts of northern Ontario, are mandated to communicate solely in English and French. These alterations did 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 blog post prompted criticism and media scrutiny from advocates and opponents of official languages, who viewed the changes as a weakening of French language protection within a major federal department. Minister of National Defence David McGuinty responded to these concerns on Thursday, stating that a review of workplace language designations has been initiated to ensure operational needs are met while safeguarding the language rights of the Defence Team.
The review will assess the application of language-of-work requirements and evaluate if the current approach aligns with operational demands and language rights. The timeline for this review was not specified in the announcement. The Conservative Party later urged McGuinty to revoke the changes immediately, emphasizing the importance of Francophone members being able to work and advance professionally in French regardless of their posting location.