Canada's Top General Runs for NATO's Senior Military Job as U.S. Support Slips
NATO defence chiefs will vote by secret ballot in Copenhagen on Sept. 19 to choose the alliance's next Chair of the Military Committee. Canada's Gen. Jennie Carignan faces Germany's Gen. Carsten Breuer. The Globe and Mail
The ballot is secret. Three sources say Ottawa is not counting on a win for Carignan because of an apparent lack of support from the United States. A former senior national-security official who has spoken with top U.S. officers said American support will not be forthcoming. Washington appears to back Breuer, the current chief of defence of the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces. The Globe and Mail
The post is NATO's most senior military role. The chair serves as principal military adviser to the alliance's civilian Secretary-General and leads the Military Committee. That committee is NATO's highest military authority, where chiefs from the 32 members agree on military advice to the North Atlantic Council, NATO's political decision-making body. Think of the chair as the bridge between generals and politicians. NATO
The current chair is Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. He took up his functions on Jan. 17, 2025. Ottawa has worked on the assumption his term will end in mid-2027, which sets the timing for succession. National Defence
The vote takes place at the Military Committee conference for chiefs of defence in Copenhagen from Sept. 18 to 19, 2026. Carignan is expected to learn the result on Sept. 19. NATO
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Defence Minister David McGuinty pressed the case for Carignan with counterparts at the NATO leaders' summit in Turkey in July. Chiefs cast the votes. Still, backing from governments helps set the tone, and that kind of leaders-level support is normal in these campaigns.
Carignan has been Chief of the Defence Staff since 2024. She is Canada's first female defence chief and has served more than 40 years in uniform in senior leadership posts across the Canadian Armed Forces. She commanded troops on a NATO mission in Iraq and was Canada's last commander of NATO Mission Iraq in 2020. Her decorations are listed as CMM, MSC, MSM, CD.
Defence Minister McGuinty announced her candidacy on May 20. Ottawa said Carignan would remain as defence chief while the selection process unfolded. That avoided a gap at the top of the Canadian Armed Forces during the campaign. National Defence
Retired officer Boudreau has linked her chances in public to the bilateral relationship. He said ongoing tensions between Canada and the U.S. make it unlikely the Americans will support Carignan. Ottawa Citizen
The broader context here is familiar in these races. Chiefs vote as military professionals, but no one in Copenhagen votes in a political vacuum. U.S. weight in the room is structural, and a clear American preference often shapes the field before ballots are cast. For Ottawa, the calculation is twofold: the value of running a credible chief, and managing at home an outcome it does not control.
Looking at what this means for Ottawa, a loss would keep Carignan in Ottawa, where continuity helps as the government works through readiness, personnel and procurement files. A win would require a succession plan at National Defence Headquarters and give Canada direct influence over how military advice is framed to the Secretary-General and Council through mid-2027 and beyond. Either way, the July lobbying and the decision to run show Ottawa wants to compete for senior alliance leadership, even when the count looks difficult.
