Urban vs Rural recruits. Do similar patterns exist in Canada?

[Danjanou]

The real impact of this article that I see is the relation between the origniating points of soldiers and post-service resources like VAC offices and medical staff.

If most of those soldiers came from small towns and returned to small towns after their service (but no statistics to prove that), it's more difficult for them to access VAC and other offices that tend to be located in metropolitan downtown areas.

This does have the potential to be an issue down the road. Mind it used to be the case that Legions were more prominent in rurla than urban areas, and while a Legion's Veteran's Service Officer is usually more a well intentioned volunteer than a trained professional social worker, at least there is a base that could possibly be built on should the need arise.

I'm going to ask a question that needs to be asked. If it offends anyone, that's too bad.

Does it really goddamned matter where our soldiers are from? This ridiculous assertions that the urban areas aren't doing their "fair share" is a distraction, pure and simple. I've served with soldiers from all over Canada - soldiers from Vancouver to Fogo Island, Newfoundland.

We have more pressing issues to deal with.

Well said and I think that should end this discussion at least for those of us who  have had the priveledge of serving our nation.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

I'm going to ask a question that needs to be asked. If it offends anyone, that's too bad.

Does it really goddamned matter where our soldiers are from? This ridiculous assertions that the urban areas aren't doing their "fair share" is a distraction, pure and simple. I've served with soldiers from all over Canada - soldiers from Vancouver to Fogo Island, Newfoundland.

We have more pressing issues to deal with.

It does matter from a recruitment/retention perspective... whether we like it or not Canada is undergoing a population shift and those rural/small town white folk are not producing nearly as many offspring as they have in previous years.  This is troubling from a recruitment perspective as this is largely the pool that the CF draws its recruits from.  If I polled my platoon right now I can tell you I would be hard pressed to find many members of my platoon from Toronto or many other major urban areas in Canada.  The vast majority are from smaller cities and towns, this may not be the case in certaint trades but in the Infantry it is definitely the case. 

Finding recruits right now is not a problem; albeit, there is a war on the go... this is going to change in the coming years as more and more of the Canadian population is made up of immigrants who in all reality have no historical or natural ties to the Canadian Forces.  Its not a problem now but in 20 years time it may very well be a problem.

 

[OldSolduer]

It does matter from a recruitment/retention perspective... whether we like it or not Canada is undergoing a population shift and those rural/small town white folk are not producing nearly as many offspring as they have in previous years.  This is troubling from a recruitment perspective as this is largely the pool that the CF draws its recruits from.  If I polled my platoon right now I can tell you I would be hard pressed to find many members of my platoon from Toronto or many other major urban areas in Canada.  The vast majority are from smaller cities and towns, this may not be the case in certaint trades but in the Infantry it is definitely the case. 

Finding recruits right now is not a problem; albeit, there is a war on the go... this is going to change in the coming years as more and more of the Canadian population is made up of immigrants who in all reality have no historical or natural ties to the Canadian Forces.  Its not a problem now but in 20 years time it may very well be a problem.

And I understand it matters to recruiters. It should NOT be used to point fingers at certain cities or areas.

We are ALL Canadians and I don't care one bit where they are from. Nor do I care if they are straight, gay, poly, bi or one horned one eared flying purple people eaters.

Rant ends.

 

[mariomike]

For what it is worth to the topic, Statistics Canada reports that only 20 per cent of Canadians are "rural":
http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62a-eng.htm

I should add that Stats Can reports only one in five "urban" Canadians actually live in city neighbourhoods. The rest come from suburban "bedroom" communities.

"However, of this metropolitan population, in 2001 nearly half lived in low-density neighbourhoods, with only one in five living in a typical "urban" neighbourhood.":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburb#Canada

"...the trend in Canada has been of steady suburbanization."

"The suburban population increased 87% between 1981 and 2001..."