Skip to content

Cart

Your cart is empty

Article: Canada appoints woman as defense staff chief for first time

Canada appoints woman as defense staff chief for first time

Canada appoints woman as defense staff chief for first time

PHOTO CAPTION: Canadian Armed Forces Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan, who has been named as the next chief of the Defence Staff, poses in an undated photograph. Governor General of Canada/Handout via REUTERS

 

 

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada named a woman as the country's top soldier for the first time ever on Wednesday, continuing a push by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appointment women to the most senior jobs.

Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan, in charge of efforts to stamp out ingrained sexism and misconduct in the armed forces, will take over on July 18 as chief of the defense staff.

Carignan, originally a military engineer, has commanded troops in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq and Syria during her 35 years in the army.

"Over the course of her career, her exceptional leadership qualities, commitment to excellence, and dedication to service have been a tremendous asset to our Armed Forces," Trudeau said in a statement.

Carignan takes over at a time when Canada is under pressure from allies to ramp up its defense spending. The armed forces are struggling to meet recruitment goals and have been slow to replace outdated equipment.

Last November the head of the navy said the service was in "a critical state" and might not be able to carry out its basic duties in 2024.

Trudeau, an avowed feminist, took office in late 2015 and has pursued policies designed to boost gender equality.

In 2018, he appointed Brenda Lucki as the first female head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The last two governors general, the official representative of the British monarchy, have been women. Trudeau named them both.



(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by David Holmes)

MORE FROM THE

OAF NATION NEWSROOM

Rwanda-backed rebel seizure of key town sparks alarm in eastern Congo

Rwanda-backed rebel seizure of key town sparks alarm in eastern Congo

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group's advance into strategically important new territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has led to fresh clashes and food price rises as people flee, two offi...

Read more
New Cuban radar site near US military base could aid China spying, think tank says

New Cuban radar site near US military base could aid China spying, think tank says

Cuba is building a new radar site likely to be capable of spying on the United States' nearby Guantanamo Bay naval base, a Washington think tank found using satellite images, the latest upgrade to ...

Read more
#3 Liquid error (layout/theme line 179): Could not find asset snippets/back-in-stock-helper.liquid