Lieutenant General Jennie Carignan becomes first female leader of Canadian military

On July 3, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Jennie Carignan to lead the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), marking the first time the top military position of this NATO member country has been held by a woman.

Speaking at a press conference in Montreal, Prime Minister Trudeau expressed his belief that in her new position, Ms. Carignan will help Canada become stronger, safer and more ready to address global security challenges in the context of complex geopolitical developments in the world.

Ms Carignan will be promoted to general and will take over as CAF Commander following the retirement of General Wayne Eyre.

The promotion and appointment ceremony is scheduled to be held on July 18.

For the past three years, Ms. Carignan has been tasked with reforming the culture and behaviour of the Canadian Armed Forces amid hundreds of allegations of sexual harassment in the military, some involving senior officers.

Ms. Carignan joined the military in 1986, three years before Canada allowed women to serve in combat roles.

Trained as a military engineer, she quickly rose through the ranks of the military, breaking stereotypes about female soldiers.

Ms Carignan was the first female officer in CAF history to command a combat unit, deployed to command a Canadian unit in Afghanistan in 2009.

Carignan has also served in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Syria; commanded the NATO training mission in Iraq from 2019-2020 and commanded the 2nd Canadian Division with more than 10,000 troops.