The Canadian Armed Forces have more ammunition than they need for training exercises and not enough stockpiled for combat, according to a new federal audit.
In her report tabled Oct. 29, Auditor General Karen Hogan identified a number of issues in how the Department of National Defence (DND) handles its ammunition orders and supplies, expressing concern at Canada’s military having a shortfall of the lethal ammunition it needs in the event of armed conflicts.
“National Defence lacked reliable inventory information and a comprehensive assessment of the ammunition it needed, both for regular use and for its strategic stockpile,” Hogan said at an Oct. 29 press conference in Ottawa.
“Its inventory controls also needed improvement, and there were significant gaps between what was required and what was available in some inventory classes,” she added.
Hogan’s findings came the same day that the federal government unveiled Canada’s first national security strategy in more than two decades, calling on the nation to be ready for “all contingencies up to and including war and other worst-case scenarios.”
The strategy recommends the national prioritization of boosting Canada’s military and defence production capabilities and reiterates Canada’s goal of spending 3.5 percent of GDP on core military spending and an additional 1.5 percent for broader defence and security-related expenditures by 2035, in compliance with a NATO benchmark for member states.
Canada is projected to spend 2.13 percent of GDP on core defence this year, up from 2.03 percent in 2025, according to findings issued by NATO in July.
Auditor General Karen Hogan and Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes participate in a news conference after delivering nine performance reports to the House of Commons, at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Oct. 29, 2026. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang
Ammo Audit
The audit presented by Hogan covered from April 2024 through March 2026 and examined past records from the fiscal years 2023 to 2026, finding that CAF used, on average, only 56 percent of the regular-use training ammunition allotted to it for exercises, deployments, and testing.
A strategic stockpile kept in reserve for use in emergency situations including high-intensity wartime operations and combat was identified as falling significantly short of necessary ammunition, according to Hogan.
Hogan said causes of the shortfall included inflated requests for regular-use ammunition and military exercises that were scaled down or cancelled, with DND noting lack of equipment and operational issues such as tanks and ships being unavailable when needed as some of the reasons for over-ordering regular-use ammunition.
“Right now, they’re overestimating what they need in that regular use and training, which is resulting in some excess inventory in certain categories,” Hogan said at an Oct. 29 press conference.
“Some of it is able to be used in an emergency, but not all ammunition for training is lethal. Some of it is inert,” she added.
Hogan did not specify which particular types of ammunition and munitions were in short supply in the strategic stockpile, citing national security, but said she has “confidence that the Canadian Armed Forces will stand ready when called upon” and added that the issues found by the audit are about CAF “being best prepared when they’re called upon.”
In addition to the shortfall in the combat-ready ammunition, Hogan identified serious issues with inventory management, concluding that as of March 31 of this year, roughly 31 percent of military ammunition storage depots had not completed their obligatory annual inventory reports, accounting for approximately $656 million in supplies.
The audit also found significant issues with delays in procurement, noting that 15 contracts to procure regular-use ammunition experienced average delivery times of almost 19 months after contracts were finalized and signed.
Conservatives said the report shows that the government has allowed the military “to fall into disrepair.”
“This cannot be allowed to continue. The Liberals must act immediately to rectify the unacceptable state of Canada’s ammunition stockpiles: both inventory and accounting,” Conservatives said in a statement. They also called on Hogan to testify before the House committee on National Defence in order to address the concerns her audit raises and how to fix them.
“This is not an insurmountable problem. It is a question of political will,” wrote Conservative MPs James Bezan and Jeff Kibble, who hold critic roles related to defence, along with the party’s Quebec lieutenant Pierre Paul-Hus.
The Liberal government said it’s undertaking measures to address the issues identified in Hogan’s military audit.
“There is work already underway to address the Auditor General’s findings, by improving ammunition data quality, strengthening governance and accountability, refining requirements planning, enhancing strategic stockpile management, and improving oversight of supplier performance and delivery delays,” Defence Minister David McGuinty and four other federal cabinet ministers wrote in an Oct. 29 joint statement.
“We remain firmly committed to ensuring that the Canadian Armed Forces have the ammunition they need to train, operate and remain ready,” they added.
This past March, Ottawa allocated $1.4 billion in funding toward expanding domestic ammunition production, including new production plants for manufacturing artillery shells.
Ottawa previously allocated $9.2 billion over 13 years starting in 2024 under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
However, the audit states that none of the ammunition funded by $695 million in DND commitments for the 2025–2026 fiscal year had been received as of March 31, 2026, and warned that at the current pace, it will take several years for the military to close the gaps in adequately filling its strategic ammunition reserves.
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