Gen. Jennie Carignan speaks during a press conference while attending the 28th annual Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference in Victoria, on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

By The Canadian Press

NATO defence chiefs to decide whether to tap Gen. Carignan for senior NATO post

Sep 19, 2026 | 3:00 AM

OTTAWA — NATO chiefs of defence are meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, today to choose the next chair of the alliance’s military committee, and Canada’s top military commander is in the running.

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan is running against German Gen. Carsten Breuer for the top NATO position.

It’s a prestige posting but it doesn’t carry the same level of clout as the alliance’s most senior role of supreme allied commander, a powerful command position that usually goes to an American.

Only three Canadians have ever served as chair of the military committee, and the last time was during the Afghanistan war in the mid-2000s.

If she wins, Carignan would become the first woman ever to be named to the position, and also would have to step down as leader of Canada’s military, a role she has held since 2024.

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The current military chair, Italy’s Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, will leave his post next year.

Defence Minister David McGuinty told reporters on Parliament Hill Friday evening that Carignan has “enormous credibility” and has reached out to her counterparts in all the NATO alliance member countries.

“She’s running a very, I think, a very good campaign,” McGuinty said.

“I supported her campaign. I wrote letters to different ministers to suggest that she would be a fine candidate, and she is.”

NATO defence chiefs to decide whether to tap Gen. Carignan for senior NATO post

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