Commander of the Canadian Army

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 this position, 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]

General Officer Commanding the Canadian Militia

Chief of the General Staff

1. Major-General Sir P.H.N. Lake 1904–1908
2. Major-General Sir W.D. Otter 1908–1910
3. Major General Sir C.J. Mackenzie 1910–1913
4. Major-General Sir W.G. Gwatkin 1913–1919
5. General Sir A.W. Currie 1919–1920*
6. Major-General Sir J.H. MacBrien 1920–1927
7. Major-General H.C. Thacker 1927–1929
8. Major-General A.G.L. McNaughton 1929–1935
9. Major-General E.C. Ashton 1935–1938
10. Major-General T.V. Anderson 1938–1940
11. Major-General H.D.G. Crerar 1940–1941
12. Lieutenant-General K. Stuart 1941–1943
13. Lieutenant-General J.C. Murchie 1944–1945[6]
14. Lieutenant-General C. Foulkes 1945–1951
15. Lieutenant-General G.G. Simonds 1951–1955[7]
16. Lieutenant-General H.D. Graham 1955–1958[8]
17. Lieutenant-General S.F. Clark 1958–1961
18. Lieutenant-General G. Walsh 1961–1964

• The position of Chief of the General Staff was renamed "Inspector-General and Military Counsellor" between 1919 and 1920.

Commander of Mobile Command

1. Lieutenant-General J.V. Allard 1965–1966[9]
2. Lieutenant-General W. Anderson 1966–1969[10]
3. Lieutenant-General G. Turcot 1969–1972[11]
4. Lieutenant General W. Milroy 1972–1973[12]
5. Lieutenant-General S. Waters 1973–1975[13]
6. Lieutenant-General J. Chouinard 1975–1977[14]
7. Lieutenant General J.J. Paradis 1977–1981[15]
8. Lieutenant-General C.H. Belzile 1981–1986[16]
9. Lieutenant-General J. Fox 1986–1989[17]
10. Lieutenant General K. Foster 1989–1991[18]
11. Lieutenant-General J. Gervais 1991–1993[19]

Chief of the Land Staff

Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff

• Chief of the Defence Staff, the second most senior member of the Canadian Armed Forces after the Commander-in-Chief
• Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, institutional head of the Royal Canadian Navy
• Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, institutional head of the Royal Canadian Air Force

• Official website