Admiral (Canada)

The rank of admiral in Canada is typically held by only one officer whose position is Chief of the Defence Staff and the senior uniformed officer of the Canadian Forces. It is equivalent to the army and air force rank of general.

Admiral
Insignia
Country	Canada
Service branch	Royal Canadian Navy
Abbreviation	ADM or Adm.
Rank	Four-maple leaf (four-star)
NATO rank code	OF-9
Non-NATO rank	O-10
Formation	1910
Next higher rank	Governor General of Canada (highest)
Next lower rank	Vice-admiral
Equivalent ranks	General (Army & Air Force)

The last naval officer to hold this position was Vice-Admiral Larry Murray, who held it on a temporary basis.

The last naval officer to hold the rank of admiral and the position of Chief of the Defence Staff was Admiral John Rogers Anderson.

The current naval officer to hold the rank of admiral and the position of Chief of the Defence Staff is Admiral Art McDonald, as of January 14th, 2021.

As of January 14th, 2021, there will be four Chief of Defence Staff who have been an admiral:

• Larry Murray
• John Rogers Anderson
• Robert Hilborn Falls
• Art McDonald

Prince Philip holds the rank of Admiral in an honorary capacity and not an active regular member of the RCN.

Others have held the title but under different circumstances:

• Charles Kingsmill was an Admiral for the Director of Naval Services of Canada, a title that is now referred to as Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.
• Percy W. Nelles was promoted Admiral after his retirement as Chief of Naval Staff and was Vice-Admiral during active duty.

On May 5, 2010, the Canadian naval uniform dark dress tunic was adjusted, removing exterior epaulettes and 'reverting' to the sleeve-ring and "executive curl" rank insignia used by a majority of navies throughout the world. This means that a Canadian admiral's dress tunic no longer bears a single broad stripe on the sleeve, with epaulettes on the shoulders, as was the case since unification (1968), but has a broad stripe plus three sleeve rings, without any epaulettes on the exterior of the tunic (cloth rank slip-ons are still worn on the uniform shirt underneath the tunic).

• Navy uniform variations
• 
  Tunic rank insignia (2010-)
• 
  Uniform shirts
• 
  Short-sleeve white shirt and tropical white dress tunic
• 
  CADPAT uniform
• 
  Dress uniform tunic between 1986 and 2010