The rank of admiral in Canada is typically held by only one officer whose position is
Chief of the Defence Staff and the senior uniformed officer of the
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
. It is equivalent to the army and air force rank of
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
.
The last naval officer to hold the rank of admiral and the position of Chief of the Defence Staff was Admiral
John Rogers Anderson.
The current naval officer to hold the rank of admiral and the position of Chief of the Defence Staff is Admiral
Art McDonald, as of January 14, 2021.
There have been three chiefs of the Defence Staff who have been an admiral:
*
John Rogers Anderson
*
Robert Hilborn Falls
*
Art McDonald
Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
held the rank of admiral in an honorary capacity and not an active regular member of the RCN from 2011 until his death in 2021.
Others have held the title but under different circumstances:
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Charles Kingsmill was an admiral for the director of Naval Services of Canada, a title that is now referred to as
Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy
Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy ( French: ''Commandant de la Marine royale canadienne'') is the title of the institutional head of the Royal Canadian Navy. This appointment also includes the title of Chief of the Naval Staff and is based at ...
.
*
Percy W. Nelles was promoted admiral after his retirement as Chief of Naval Staff and was vice-admiral during active duty.
On May 5, 2010, the Canadian naval uniform dark dress tunic was adjusted, removing exterior epaulettes and reverting to the sleeve-ring and
executive curl rank insignia used by a majority of navies throughout the world. This means that a Canadian admiral's dress tunic no longer bears a single broad stripe on the sleeve, with epaulettes on the shoulders, as was the case since unification (1968), but has a broad stripe plus three sleeve rings, without any epaulettes on the exterior of the tunic (cloth rank slip-ons are still worn on the uniform shirt underneath the tunic).
Image:Canadian RCN OF-9.svg, Tunic rank insignia (2010-)
Image:Navy slip-on Adm.png, Uniform shirts
File:Canadian Admiral Shoulder Board.png, Short-sleeve white shirt and white dress tunic
Image:Navy olive Adm.png, CADPAT uniform
Image:CDN-Navy-Adm-Shoulder.svg, Dress uniform tunic between 1986 and 2010
See also
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Flag officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command.
Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways:
* ...
*
Four-star rank
Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10.
Star ranking
One-star
A one-star rank is usual ...
*
Canadian Forces ranks and insignia
References
{{Canadian officer ranks
Military ranks of Canada
Military insignia