Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy

The Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (French: Commandant de la Marine royale canadienne) is the institutional head of the Royal Canadian Navy. This appointment also includes the title Chief of the Naval Staff and is based at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario. This individual reports to the Chief of the Defence Staff, who then responds to the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and Chief of the Naval Staff
Vice Admiral insignia
Vice Admiral flag
Incumbent Vice Admiral C.A. Baines since 14 January 2021
Royal Canadian Navy
Type	Commissioned officer
Status	Currently constituted
Abbreviation	Comd RCN
Reports to	Chief of the Defence Staff
Term length	At Her Majesty's pleasure
Precursor	Chief of the Maritime Staff
Deputy	Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy/Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff
Website	Official website

History of the position

The appointment was entitled Director of the Naval Service from 1910 to 1928 and then Chief of the Naval Staff from 1928 to 1964. In August 1964 the position of Chief of the Naval Staff was abolished. Responsibility for naval matters was split between the newly established Defence Staff in Ottawa and operational headquarters in Halifax (for Flag Officer Atlantic Coast) and Esquimalt (for Flag Officer Pacific Coast).[1] The appointment was entitled Commander of Maritime Command from 1966 to 1997 and Chief of the Maritime Staff from 1997 to 2011. In 2011 Maritime Command was renamed the Royal Canadian Navy at which time the appointment was renamed to its present incarnation.[2][3]

Appointees

The following table lists all those who have held the post of Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy or its preceding positions. Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure:[4]

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
Director of the Naval Service
1		Admiral Sir C.E. Kingsmill (1855–1935)	4 May 1910	31 December 1921	11 years
2		Commodore W. Hose (1875–1965)	1921	1928	6–7 years
Chief of the Naval Staff
1		Rear Admiral W. Hose (1875–1965)	1928	December 1933	5–6 years
-		Captain P.W. Nelles (1892–1951) Acting	December 1933	July 1934	7 months
2		Vice Admiral P.W. Nelles (1892–1951)	July 1934	January 1944	9 years
3		Vice Admiral G.C. Jones (1895–1946)	January 1944	8 February 1946 †	2 years
4		Vice Admiral H.E. Reid (1897–1962)	8 February 1946	31 August 1947	1 years
5		Vice Admiral H.T.W. Grant (1899–1965)	1 September 1947	1 December 1951	5 years
6		Vice Admiral E.R. Mainguy (1901–1979)	1 December 1951	January 1956	4 years
7		Vice Admiral H.G. DeWolf (1903–2000)	January 1956	31 July 1960	4 years
8		Vice Admiral H.S. Rayner (1911–1976) [lower-alpha 1]	1 August 1960	1964	3–4 years
Commander of Maritime Command
1		Rear Admiral W.M. Landymore (1916–2008) [lower-alpha 2]	12 January 1966	24 July 1966	0 years
2		Vice Admiral J.C. O'Brien (1918–1996) [lower-alpha 3]	12 January 1966	24 July 1970	3 years
3		Vice Admiral H.A. Porter (1922–2016)	July 1970	1971	1 years
4		Rear Admiral R.W. Timbrell (1920–2006)	1971	1973	1–2 years
5		Vice Admiral D.S. Boyle (1923–2001)	1973	1977	3–4 years
6		Vice Admiral A.L. Collier (1924–1987)	1977	1 August 1979	1–2 years
7		Vice Admiral J. Allan (1928–2014)	2 August 1979	1980	0–1 years
8		Vice Admiral J.A. Fulton (born 1927)	1980	29 July 1983	2–3 years
9		Vice Admiral J.C. Wood (born 1934)	1983	1987	3–4 years
10		Vice Admiral C.M.W. Thomas (born 1936)	1987	1989	1–2 years
11		Vice Admiral R.E. George (born 1940)	1989	1991	1–2 years
12		Vice Admiral J.R. Anderson (born 1941)	1991	1992	0–1 years
13		Vice Admiral P.W. Cairns (born 1938)	1992	1994	1–2 years
14		Vice Admiral L.E. Murray (born 1947)	1994	1995	0–1 years
15		Vice Admiral L.G. Mason (born 1942)	1995	1997	1–2 years
Chief of the Maritime Staff
1		Vice Admiral G.L. Garnett (born 1944)	12 January 1997	24 September 1997	8 months
2		Vice Admiral G.R. Maddison (born 1949)	24 September 1997	May 2001	3 years, 7 months
3		Vice Admiral R.D. Buck	May 2001	2004	2–3 years
4		Vice Admiral M.B. MacLean	2004	22 January 2006	1–2 years
5		Vice Admiral D.W. Robertson	23 January 2006	2009	2–3 years
6		Vice Admiral P.D. McFadden (born 1957)	1 June 2009	21 July 2011	2 years, 1 month
Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy
1		Vice Admiral P.A. Maddison	21 July 2011	June 2013	1 year, 10 months
2		Vice Admiral M.A.G. Norman (born 1964)	June 2013	January 2016	2 years, 7 months
3		Vice Admiral M.F.R. Lloyd (born 1963)	23 June 2016	12 June 2019	2 years, 11 months
4		Vice Admiral A.G. McDonald (born 1967)	13 June 2019	14 January 2021	1 year, 7 months
4		Vice Admiral C.A. Baines	14 January 2021	Incumbent	0 months

See also

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

Notes

1. The Royal Canadian Navy had no official head between 1964, when the position of Chief of the Naval Staff was abolished, and 1966, when the position of Commander of Maritime Command was established. In 1968 the Royal Canadian Navy ceased to exist after it was unified with the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force to form the Canadian Forces.
2. In January 1966 he was appointed as the first Commander Maritime Command, in which position he served until he was encouraged to take an early retirement in July 1966, after a disagreement with the Minister of National Defence over the continuation of the traditional naval identity.
3. In the rank of Rear Admiral between 1966–1968 and Vice-Admiral between 1968–1970.

References

1. Whitby, et al., eds. "The Admirals", p. 357. Dundurn Press, 2006.
2. Canadian Navy, Air Force 'Royal' Again With Official Name Change Huffington Post, 15 August 2011
3. DSA Vice-Admiral Maddison Archived June 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
4. "List of Commanders of the Royal Canadian Navy". Canadian Government. Retrieved 14 March 2020.