Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan Appointed as Next Chief of the Defence Staff
Carignan will succeed Gen. Wayne Eyre as leader of the Canadian Armed Forces, according to a senior source.
Since the role’s creation in 1964, Canada has had 21 full-time defence chiefs, all of whom have been men.
The source said Carignan was offered the position on Wednesday and has accepted.
The change-of-command ceremony, during which Carignan will be officially promoted to the top position, is scheduled for July 18.
Military ‘Veteran’
Carignan is regarded as a trailblazer for Canadian women in combat roles. Her career in the Canadian Armed Forces spans over three decades, beginning with her enlistment in the Royal Military College of Canada in 1986, six years after it began admitting women.
In 2016, Carignan became the first woman from a combat arms trade to achieve the rank of general. She has also held several key staff positions, including Chief of Staff to Army Operations at Army Headquarters.
Her international experience includes deployments to the Golan Heights, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and leading a task force of engineers in Kandahar from 2009 to 2010 during the peak of the Taliban insurgency.
Domestically, Carignan led the emergency response when Canadian troops were deployed to Quebec in 2019 to assist with severe spring flooding. Later that year, she was appointed to lead NATO’s training mission in Iraq.
Gen. Wayne Eyre announced his plans to retire this summer after 40 years of service. The Prime Minister’s Office congratulated him in a statement and expressed gratitude for his service.
