Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke last week in Trenton, Ontario to announce what he called a "generational" increase in pay for members of the Canadian Armed Forces. And while this may bolster an already growing interest in joining the ranks of Canada's military, which has reached a 10-year high this year, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute find many Canadians evidently willing to serve their country in a number of different forms - even if it's mandatory.

These data find Canadians overwhelmingly supportive of the idea of mandatory civilian service - that is, one year of time donated for those younger than 30 years of age - across a number of fields. This type of model has been utilized in Germany, France, Norway, and other countries in recent years to engage citizens. Whether it's civil protection, public health support, environmental support or youth services, at least seven-in-10 say they would support one year of compulsory time donated.

Perhaps most key here are the views of young people between the age of 18 and 29. Comparing support minus opposition across these four broad areas yields a +36 or higher among 18- to 29-year-old men in all four and a +30 or higher among 18- to 29-year-old women across each option. Young women are close to equally likely as young men to support each prospective field of service, aside from civil protection, which would include items like disaster response, emergency management, and firefighting, where their net score dips 13-points lower than men.

Read the complete article