Commander of the Canadian Army

The Commander of the Canadian Army (French: Commandant de l'Armée canadienne) is the institutional head of the Canadian Army. This appointment also includes the title Chief of the Army Staff (French: chef de l'état-major de l'Armée) and is based at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.

Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff
Incumbent
Lieutenant General Wayne Eyre
since 20 August 2019
 Canadian Army
TypeCommissioned Officer
StatusCurrently constituted
AbbreviationCCA
Reports toChief of the Defence Staff
Term lengthAt Her Majesty's pleasure
PrecursorChief of the Land Staff
DeputyDeputy Commander of the Canadian Army
WebsiteOfficial website

History of the position

Prior to 1904, militia forces in Canada were commanded by senior British Army officers appointed as General Officer Commanding the Canadian Militia.[1] British regular forces in the Dominion had their own commander until the withdrawal of the last British garrison in 1906. From 1903 to 1904, the Canadian Army embarked on a new period of modernization that included the creation of a new office of Chief of the General Staff. Between 1904 and 1964, eighteen officers held the position of Chief of the General Staff, with the last of these, Lieutenant General Geoffrey Walsh, having officially stood down the appointment on 31 August 1964 following the official integration of the three armed services into a single Canadian Armed Forces.[2]

Following the unification of Canada's military forces[3] in February 1968, the majority of Canada's land element was assigned to the newly created Force Mobile Command and the senior Canadian army officer was then known as Commander of Mobile Command from 1965 to 1993. The command was renamed Land Force Command and the senior Canadian army officer was known as Chief of the Land Staff from 1993 to 2011.[4] Land Force Command was officially re-designated as the Canadian Army in 2011, at which time the appointment was also renamed Commander of the Canadian Army to reflect this.[5]

Appointees
Flag of the Chief of the General Staff

The following table lists all those who have held the post of Commander of the Canadian Army or its preceding positions. Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure:[6]

No. Portrait NameTook officeLeft officeTime in office
General Officer Commanding the Canadian Militia
1
Smyth, E.Lieutenant-General
Sir E.S. Smyth
(1819–1896)		187518804–5 years
2
Luard, R.Major-General
R.G.A. Luard
(1827–1891)		188018843–4 years
3
Middleton, F.Major-General
Sir F.D. Middleton
(1825–1898)		188418905–6 years
4
Treowen, I.Major-General
The Rt Hon Lord Treowen
(1851–1933)		189018954–5 years
5
Gascoigne, W.Major-General
Sir W.J. Gascoigne
(1844–1926)		189518982–3 years
6
Hutton, E.Major-General
Sir E.T.H. Hutton
(1848–1923)		189819001–2 years
7
Haly, R.Major-General
R.H.O. Haly
(1841–1911)		190019021–2 years
8
Dundonald, D.Major-General
The Rt Hon Earl of Dundonald
(1852–1935)		190219041–2 years
Chief of the General Staff
1
Lake, P.H.N.Major-General
Sir P.H.N. Lake
(1855–1940)		190419083–4 years
2
Otter, W.D.Major-General
Sir W.D. Otter
(1843–1929)		190819101–2 years
3
Mackenzie, C.J.Major-General
Sir C.J. Mackenzie
(1861–1956)		191019132–3 years
4
Gwatkin, W.G.Major-General
Sir W.G. Gwatkin
(1859–1925)		191319195–6 years
5
Currie, A.W.Major-General
Sir A.W. Currie
(1875–1933)
("Inspector-General
and Military Counsellor")		191919200–1 years
6
MacBrien, J.H.Major-General
Sir J.H. MacBrien
(1878–1938)		192019276–7 years
7
Thacker, H.C.Major-General
H.C. Thacker
(1870–1953)		192719291–2 years
8
McNaughton, A.G.L.Major-General
A.G.L. McNaughton
(1887–1966)		192919355–6 years
9
Ashton, E.C.Major-General
E.C. Ashton
(1873–1957)		193519382–3 years
10
Anderson, T.V.Major-General
T.V. Anderson
(1881–1972)		193819401–2 years
11
Crerar, H.D.G.Major-General
H.D.G. Crerar
(1888–1965)		194019410–1 years
12
Stuart, K.Lieutenant-General
K. Stuart
(1891–1945)		194119431–2 years
13
Murchie, J.C.Lieutenant-General
J.C. Murchie
(1895–1966)		194419450–1 years
14
Foulkes, C.Lieutenant-General
C. Foulkes
(1903–1969)		194519515–6 years
15
Simonds, G.G.Lieutenant-General
G.G. Simonds
(1903–1974)		195119553–4 years
16
Graham, H.D.Lieutenant-General
H.D. Graham
(1898–1986)		195519582–3 years
17
Clark, S.F.Lieutenant-General
S.F. Clark
(1909–1998)		195819612–3 years
18
Walsh, G.Lieutenant-General
G. Walsh
(1909–1999)		196119642–3 years
Commander of Mobile Command
1
Allard, J.V.Lieutenant-General
J.V. Allard
(1913–1996)		196519660–1 years
2
Anderson, W.Lieutenant-General
W. Anderson
(1915–2000)		196619692–3 years
3
Turcot, G.Lieutenant-General
G. Turcot
(1917–2010)		196919722–3 years
4
Milroy, W.Lieutenant-General
W. Milroy
(1920–2006)		197219730–1 years
5
Waters, S.Lieutenant-General
S. Waters
(1920–1991)		197319751–2 years
6
Chouinard, J.Lieutenant-General
J. Chouinard
(1922–2008)		197519771–2 years
7
Paradis, J.J.Lieutenant-General
J.J. Paradis
(1928–2007)		197719813–4 years
8
Belzile, C.H.Lieutenant-General
C.H. Belzile
(1933–2016)		198119864–5 years
9
Fox, J.Lieutenant-General
J. Fox		198619892–3 years
10
Foster, K.Lieutenant-General
K. Foster
(born 1938)		198919911–2 years
11
Gervais, J.Lieutenant-General
J. Gervais
(born 1938)		199119931–2 years
Chief of the Land Staff
1
Reay, G.Lieutenant-General
G. Reay
(1943–2000)		1993September 19962–3 years
2
Baril, M.Lieutenant-General
M. Baril
(born 1943)		September 1996September 19971 year
3
Leach, W.Lieutenant-General
W. Leach
(1942–2015)		September 1997August 20002 years, 11 months
4
Jeffery, M.Lieutenant-General
M. Jeffery		August 2000May 20032 years, 9 months
5
Hillier, R.Lieutenant-General
R. Hillier
(born 1955)		May 20034 February 20051 year, 9 months
6
Caron, M.Lieutenant-General
M. Caron
(born 1954)		4 February 2005June 20061 year, 3 months
7
Leslie, A.Lieutenant-General
A. Leslie
(born 1957)		June 2006June 20104 years
8
Devlin, P.Lieutenant-General
P. Devlin		June 201021 July 20111 year, 1 month
Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff
1
Devlin, P.Lieutenant-General
P. Devlin		21 July 2011July 20131 year, 11 months
2
Hainse, M.Lieutenant-General
M. Hainse
(born 1964)		July 2013January 20162 years, 6 months
3
Wynnyk, P.Lieutenant-General
P.F. Wynnyk
(born 1964)		January 201616 July 20182 years, 6 months
4
Lanthier, J.Lieutenant-General
J. Lanthier		16 July 201820 August 20191 year, 1 month
5
Eyre, W.Lieutenant-General
W. Eyre		20 August 2019Incumbent1 year, 5 months

See also

References
  1. British Strategic Withdrawal from the Western Hemisphere, 1904–1906 Archived 2012-07-20 at Archive.today University of Toronto Press
  2. "Lieutenant-General Geoffrey Walsh". Army cadet history. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  3. Integration and Unification of the Canadian Forces Archived January 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Chasing the Silver Bullet: the Evolution of Capability Development in the Canadian Army by Major Andrew B. Godefroy CD, Page 59
  5. Canadian Navy, Air Force 'Royal' Again With Official Name Change Huffington Post, 15 August 2011
  6. "List of commanders of the Army". Government of Canada. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
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