Pete Hegseth managed to do something last week that Canadian governments have struggled to do for years: get a lot of people talking about the Canadian Cadet Program.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Secretary of Defense did it by reposting a photograph from the Vernon Cadet Training Centre showing a cadet receiving an award from an officer. He added a Canadian flag and the words “this is real” – an obvious invitation to mock the women’s appearance.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the post was “beneath their office,” while Defence Minister David McGuinty said it was “below the dignity” of the office Hegseth holds. Both are right.

But what made the episode uncomfortable for me was watching Canadian political and military leaders wrap themselves so enthusiastically in a program that successive governments have consciously allowed to become considerably less ambitious over the past decade.

Defending Canada’s cadets when someone in Washington mocks them is the easy part. But if Canadian political and military leaders are as proud of the Cadet Program as they said they were this week, their priorities should show it.

Most of the time, that doesn’t happen, although the federal government’s 2026 spring economic update offers an encouraging opportunity to reconsider what Canada wants this program to be and what resources are required to deliver it.

The update proposes $250 million over five years and $45 million annually thereafter to expand skilled-trades training through the CAF, including more hands-on programming and enhanced summer experiences for cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers.

It also proposes clearer pathways from those programs into apprenticeships and the Primary Reserve, including a new pilot that would provide fully funded trades training and paid, part-time experience in exchange for a period of Reserve service, with colleges, universities and Helmets to Hardhats helping participants move toward recognized apprenticeships and certification.

A new chance to invest in cadets

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