# 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.

## 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. 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 Militia 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.
Following the unification of Canada's military forces 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 its senior officer was known as Chief of the Land Staff from 1993 to 2011. 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.

## Appointees

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:
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| General Officer Commanding the Canadian Militia ||||||
| 1 | Smyth, E.Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Selby Smyth (1819–1896) | 1875 | 1880 | 4–5 years |
| 2 | Luard, R.Major-General Richard Luard (1827–1891) | 1880 | 1884 | 3–4 years |
| 3 | Middleton, F.Major-General Sir Frederick Dobson Middleton (1825–1898) | 1884 | 1890 | 5–6 years |
| 4 | Treowen, I.Major-General Ivor Herbert (1851–1933) | 1890 | 1895 | 4–5 years |
| 5 | Gascoigne, W.Major-General Sir William Gascoigne (1844–1926) | 1895 | 1898 | 2–3 years |
| 6 | Hutton, E.Major-General Sir Edward Hutton (1848–1923) | 1898 | 1900 | 1–2 years |
| 7 | Haly, R.Major-General Richard O'Grady Haly (1841–1911) | 1900 | 1902 | 1–2 years |
| 8 | Dundonald, D.Major-General The Rt Hon. Earl of Dundonald (1852–1935) | 1902 | 1904 | 1–2 years |
| Chief of the General Staff ||||||
| 1 | Lake, P.H.N.Major-General Sir Percy Lake (1855–1940) | 1904 | 1908 | 3–4 years |
| 2 | Otter, W.D.Major-General Sir William Otter (1843–1929) | 1908 | 1910 | 1–2 years |
| 3 | Mackenzie, C. J.Major-General Sir Colin Mackenzie (1861–1956) | 1910 | 1913 | 2–3 years |
| 4 | Gwatkin, W.G.Major-General Sir Willoughby Gwatkin (1859–1925) | 1913 | 1920 | 5–6 years |
| 5 | MacBrien, J. H.Major-General Sir James MacBrien (1878–1938) | 1920 | 1927 | 6–7 years |
| 6 | Thacker, H. C.Major-General Herbert Cyril Thacker (1870–1953) | 1927 | 1929 | 1–2 years |
| 7 | McNaughton, A. G. L.Major-General Andrew McNaughton (1887–1966) | 1929 | 1935 | 5–6 years |
| 8 | Ashton, E. C.Major-General Ernest Charles Ashton (1873–1957) | 1935 | 1938 | 2–3 years |
| 9 | Anderson, T. V.Major-General Thomas Victor Anderson (1881–1972) | 1938 | 1940 | 1–2 years |
| 10 | Crerar, H. D. G.Major-General Harry Crerar (1888–1965) | 1940 | 1941 | 0–1 years |
| 11 | Stuart, K.Lieutenant-General Kenneth Stuart (1891–1945) | 1941 | 1943 | 1–2 years |
| 12 | Murchie, J. C.Lieutenant-General John Carl Murchie (1895–1966) | 1944 | 1945 | 0–1 years |
| 13 | Foulkes, C.Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes (1903–1969) | 1945 | 1951 | 5–6 years |
| 14 | Simonds, G. G.Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds (1903–1974) | 1951 | 1955 | 3–4 years |
| 15 | Graham, H. D.Lieutenant-General Howard Graham (1898–1986) | 1955 | 1958 | 2–3 years |
| 16 | Clark, S. F.Lieutenant-General Samuel Findlay Clark (1909–1998) | 1958 | 1961 | 2–3 years |
| 17 | Walsh, G.Lieutenant-General Geoffrey Walsh (1909–1999) | 1961 | 1964 | 2–3 years |
| Commander of Mobile Command ||||||
| 1 | Allard, J. V.Lieutenant-General Jean Victor Allard (1913–1996) | 1965 | 1966 | 0–1 years |
| 2 | Anderson, W.Lieutenant-General William Anderson (1915–2000) | 1966 | 1969 | 2–3 years |
| 3 | Turcot, G.Lieutenant-General Gilles Turcot (1917–2010) | 1969 | 1972 | 2–3 years |
| 4 | Milroy, W.Lieutenant-General William A. Milroy (1920–2006) | 1972 | 1973 | 0–1 years |
| 5 | Waters, S.Lieutenant-General Stanley Waters (1920–1991) | 1973 | 1975 | 1–2 years |
| 6 | Chouinard, J.Lieutenant-General Jacques Chouinard (1922–2008) | 1975 | 1977 | 1–2 years |
| 7 | Paradis, J. J.Lieutenant-General Jean Jacques Paradis (1928–2007) | 1977 | 1981 | 3–4 years |
| 8 | Belzile, C. H.Lieutenant-General Charles H. Belzile (1933–2016) | 1981 | 1986 | 4–5 years |
| 9 | Fox, J.Lieutenant-General Jim Fox | 1986 | 1989 | 2–3 years |
| 10 | Foster, K.Lieutenant-General Kent Foster (born 1938) | 1989 | 1991 | 1–2 years |
| 11 | Gervais, J.Lieutenant-General Jim Gervais (born 1938) | 1991 | 1993 | 1–2 years |
| Chief of the Land Staff ||||||
| 1 | Reay, G.Lieutenant-General Gord Reay (1943–2000) | 1993 | September 1996 | 2–3 years |
| 2 | Baril, M.Lieutenant-General Maurice Baril (born 1943) | September 1996 | September 1997 | 1 year |
| 3 | Leach, W.Lieutenant-General William Leach (1942–2015) | September 1997 | August 2000 | 2 years, 11 months |
| 4 | Jeffery, M.Lieutenant-General Mike Jeffery | August 2000 | May 2003 | 2 years, 9 months |
| 5 | Hillier, R.Lieutenant-General Rick Hillier (born 1955) | May 2003 | 4 February 2005 | 1 year, 9 months |
| 6 | Caron, M.Lieutenant-General Marc Caron (born 1954) | 4 February 2005 | June 2006 | 1 year, 3 months |
| 7 | Leslie, A.Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie (born 1957) | June 2006 | June 2010 | 4 years |
| 8 | Devlin, P.Lieutenant-General Peter Devlin | June 2010 | 21 July 2011 | 1 year, 1 month |
| Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff ||||||
| 1 | Devlin, P.Lieutenant-General Peter Devlin | 21 July 2011 | July 2013 | 1 year, 11 months |
| 2 | Hainse, M.Lieutenant-General Marquis Hainse (born 1964) | July 2013 | January 2016 | 2 years, 6 months |
| 3 | Wynnyk, P.Lieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk (born 1964) | January 2016 | 16 July 2018 | 2 years, 6 months |
| 4 | Lanthier, J.Lieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier | 16 July 2018 | 20 August 2019 | 1 year, 1 month |
| 5 | Eyre, W.Lieutenant General Wayne Eyre | 20 August 2019 | 16 June 2022 | 2 years, 9 months |
| 6 | Paul, J.Lieutenant-General Jocelyn Paul | 16 June 2022 | 13 July 2024 | 2 years, 4 months |
| 7 | Wright, M. C.Lieutenant-General Michael Wright | 13 July 2024 | Incumbent | 3 months |