Gen. Jennie Carignan’s NATO bid is a reminder that Canada’s military leadership has quietly changed in a big way.

She became Canada’s first woman Chief of the Defence Staff, after a career that included Afghanistan, Bosnia, Syria, Iraq, and command of NATO Mission Iraq.

The chair of NATO’s Military Committee is elected by allied chiefs of defence, so this is less of a symbolic appointment and more of a serious test of how Canada is viewed inside the alliance.

The contrast with the politics around women in uniform south of the border makes the moment sharper.

Canada is putting forward a combat-tested general at a time when NATO is deciding what kind of leadership it wants next.

#canada #nato #military

(Source: NATO, Canadian Defence Review, Reuters)