Today the Canadian Army unveiled its new icon and refreshed tagline on several of its social media platforms. Featuring the new CADPAT MT (multi-terrain) pattern and a Maple Leaf, the design immediately captured the attention and imagination of Canadians — but likely not as the army intended.Lieutenant-General Paul, Commander of the Canadian Army explained on ‘X’ that the design was “to complement our official Canadian Army logo.” While the army’s intent may have been for it to complement its official logo, it was far from complimentary.Much like an abstract piece of art, the new design left much to the interpretation of the viewer. In this case, observers were nearly unanimous in expressing their disbelief and ridicule over how poorly it was executed.Critiques ranged from how the new icon looked like it was designed by a 10-year-old with a Minecraft addiction, to how it closely resembles an elk having a loose bowel movement. Someone went so far to recreate the design with photoshopped picture of a man hugging a moose.The similarity of the latter is undeniable.But equally evident is the fact that this new logo is a conscious effort by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to make the organization as nebulous as possible. In doing so they can almost guarantee that the branding and imagery they use is unlikely to offend anyone. And while this rebrand may have met that particular benchmark, it also fails to inspire — and this is biggest problem the CAF has to overcome.Facing historically low recruitment and abysmal retention, the new icon, that closely resembles what one user on X described as, “an 8-bit bear humping a moose” is hardly going to inspire legions of Canadian youth to line up at the recruiting offices.A lack of inspiring imagery is actually one of the key problems with Justin Trudeau's idea that Canada is a post-national state. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Army’s new image came from the same design team responsible for the much-derided passport refresh in 2023.The passport makeover faced similar criticism from Canadians who rightly expressed anger and dismay that in that it erased many of Canada’s important and historic symbolism in favor of generic, non-offensive, DEI-consultant approved images.But perhaps more importantly, the Canadian Army’s inability to effectively execute something so simple as a logo design should concern Canadians. If this small task poses such a significant challenge in critical thinking, what does it say about their capability to conduct large scale operations against an enemy?Some might criticize the inability to create a logo and conducting warfare as an inequitable comparison, but it’s really not.A military’s ability to control propaganda and the narrative surrounding the battles it fights in a world highly inter-connected by social media, is paramount. One only needs to look at the challenges that Israel and Ukraine are facing against propaganda from Hamas and Russia respectively. If Canada can’t create a logo that resonates with its own citizens how is it supposed to counter an enemy's disinformation campaign on the scale that Israel and Ukraine have.Hopefully the CAF leadership understands the many critiques it is receiving from Canadians on this topic are actually a positive thing. It demonstrates that there is a large number of Canadians who want to see the Army, and by extension the Navy and Air Force succeed. They are telling the CAF leadership and the government what they want the CAF to look like and be so that they can support it.Good leaders listen, and if the CAF and Lt-Gen. Paul take the time to listen to Canadians then they’ll realize that this task was poorly done and head back to the drawing board.
