Canada's military -- facing belt-tightening, a spy scandal and having recently completed a major combat mission in Afghanistan -- on Friday said it wanted 20,000 stress balls, but then abruptly backtracked.

A website that advertises government contracts said the malleable, hand-squeezable items designed to relieve anxiety and frustration were needed by the end of March, before the start of a new fiscal year.

But the order was canceled when the country's defense minister caught wind of it in media reports.

"As soon as Minister (Peter) MacKay was made aware of this contract, he instructed officials to immediately cancel this unnecessary expense of taxpayer money," his office told AFP.

Little other information about the stress ball order had been provided before it was axed, except that the rubber items must be "orange" in color.

Canada lowered its flag in Kandahar and handed over security duties to US and Afghan troops on December 1, marking the end of a nine-year deployment in southern Afghanistan -- its longest-running combat mission.

The war in Afghanistan cost the lives of 157 Canadian troops, as well as two aid workers, a senior diplomat, a journalist and a military trainer -- and more than $11 billion.

But Canada's defense department faces budget cuts as part of a wider government effort to trim costs by as much as 10 percent across the board.

The military also this week had to handle a Canadian naval officer being arrested and accused of disclosing military secrets, reportedly to Russia.