Jennie Carignan

Education and Personal Life

Jennie Carignan was born into a French-speaking family in a working-class neighbourhood, one of four siblings. Her father was a police officer and her mother was a teacher. As a child, her greatest wish was to become a ballerina, and she has retained a love of dance throughout her life. Carignan graduated from high school in 1986 and met Eric Lefrançois at college later that year. The couple married in 1990 and have four children, two of whom serve in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Army Career

Jennie Carignan enrolled in the CAF in 1986. She attended the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario, graduated in 1990 with a degree in fuels and materials engineering and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Canadian Military Engineers. While attending RMC, she completed her initial military training at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Chilliwack, British Columbia.

During that time, she was promoted lieutenant in May 1991 and captain in May 1993, serving as a production officer in construction engineering after classification training. Between June and December 1993, Carignan deployed as the construction engineering troop commander on Operation Danaca, the CAF name for its contribution to the UN Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria.

In July 1994, Carignan was posted to 5th Combat Engineer Regiment at CFB Valcartier, Quebec as adjutant and then as officer commanding 51 Engineer Squadron. Two years later, she moved into a construction engineering appointment at Base Valcartier, where she remained until mid-1999. Later that year, Carignan was promoted major.

Between August 1999 and 2001, Carignan attended Laval University and obtained a master’s degree in business administration. On completion, she was posted to National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in Ottawa on the staff of the director general real property portfolio requirements.

Between March and October 2002, Carignan deployed on Operation Palladium as chief engineer for NATO’s Multinational Division Southwest in Bosnia, part of the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR).

Carignan returned to NDHQ after her SFOR deployment and was employed in the chief of staff J3/director general military plans and operations. She returned to 5th Combat Engineer Regiment in July 2003 as the unit’s deputy commanding officer.

On promotion to lieutenant-colonel in June 2005, Carignan attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she earned a master’s degree in military arts and science. She returned to Canada in May 2007 to become a member of the directing staff at the Canadian Army Command and Staff College in Kingston, Ontario.

In June 2008, Carignan was once again posted to 5th Combat Engineer Regiment, this time as commanding officer. This marked the first time a Canadian combat arms unit was commanded by a woman. During her time in command, Carignan deployed to Afghanistan between November 2009 and September 2010, where she commanded the Task Force Kandahar Engineer Regiment. On return, she became deputy commander of 5th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in Valcartier.

In July 2011 on promotion to colonel, Carignan was appointed chief of staff, 4th Canadian Division Headquarters in Toronto. Two years later, she became the first woman commandant of the Royal Military College, Saint-Jean, Quebec.

In August 2015, Carignan attended the year-long national security studies program at Canadian Forces College in Toronto. She was promoted brigadier-general on completion of the course the next summer, making her the world’s first female combat arms general. Carignan was posted to NDHQ as chief of staff army operations, a post she held for two years.

On 28 June 2018, Carignan was appointed commander 2nd Canadian Division and Joint Task Force East, with headquarters in Montreal. In April and June 2019, she led the CAF response to spring flooding in Quebec. (See The Canadian Armed Forces and Natural Disasters.)

Carignan was promoted major-general on 1 August 2019 and deployed on Operation Impact between November 2019 and November 2020 as commander of the NATO mission in Iraq.

On 23 April 2021, Carignan was promoted lieutenant-general, and on 3 May she became the first ever chief of professional conduct and culture. The post had been established by the chief of the defence staff and the deputy minister “to lead transformational change in the way systemic conduct is understood and addressed” within DND and the CAF.

On 18 July 2024, Carignan became the first female full general in Canadian history, as well as the first female chief of the defence staff.

Honours and Awards

• UN Disengagement Observer Force (1993)
• Canadian Forces Decoration (1998), 1st Clasp (2009), 2nd Clasp (2019)
• Major-General Hans Schlup Award, excellence in international relations, US Army Command and General Staff Officer Course (2007)
• NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia (2009)
• Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal (2009)
• General Campaign Star ‒ South-West Asia (2010), Rotation Bar (2010)
• Meritorious Service Medal (2011)
• Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, Women’s Executive Network (2011)
• Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)
• Prix Hermès, distinguished graduate in administration, Laval University (2013)
• Officer of the Order of Military Merit (2015)
• Generalissimo José-Maria Morelos (Mexico) Award, top military graduate National Security Programme (2016)
• Kanwal Sethi Inukshuk Award, having contributed the most to the overall success of the National Security Programme as selected by peers (2016)
• Gloire de l’Escolle Medal, distinguished graduate Laval University (2016)
• Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration Laval University (2019)
• General Campaign Star – Expedition (2020), Rotation Bar (2020)
• Commander of the Order of Military Merit (2020)
• US Officer of the Legion of Merit (2021)
• Meritorious Service Cross (2021)