Gen. Jennie Carignan has officially taken over command of the Armed Forces in a ceremony at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Carignan was promoted to the rank of general during the change-of-command ceremony.
She was chosen by the federal government to become Canada’s first female defence chief, and she’s no stranger to firsts.
Carignan was also the first woman to command a combat unit in the Canadian military, and her career has included deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Syria.
For the last three years, she has been the chief of professional conduct and culture, a job created as a result of the sexual misconduct scandal in 2021.
Gen. Wayne Eyre, who is set to retire from the Armed Forces later in the summer after leading the military for about three years, says Carignan brings “highly relevant experience” to her role.
He spoke at the museum on Thursday morning, with dignitaries including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gov. Gen. Mary Simon looking on.
“You know it’s time to go when the majority of the platforms you’ve served on are here in a museum,” he said, getting laughs from attendees.
Eyre said the circumstances when he came into the position were “not ideal,” and recalled Trudeau describing what he inherited as a “turd sandwich.”
He said his rejoinder to the prime minister at the time was: “Yes, sir, but you forgot the bread.”
That joke aside, he thanked leaders for the opportunity to serve and witness history at the highest level of the Canadian military.
“The security situation out there is not getting any better and we will continue to face many crises, often stacked one upon the other,” said Eyre, emphasizing the massive threats that war in Ukraine and online disinformation continue to pose.
“To do our part in the free world, we need to be at our own peak capability and readiness, and thus peak deterrence, to meet that threat.”
It will take the whole of government and the whole of society to support the military’s urgent mission, he said, to ensure that is the case.
He told Carignan in French: “You are ready for this role, and you deserve it.”