Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)

Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS; French: Vice-chef d’état-major de la Défense) is the title of the second most senior member of the Canadian Armed Forces, reporting to the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) as well as the Deputy Minister of National Defence. The Directorate General Executive Coordination, the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, the National Cadet and Junior Canadian Rangers Support Group and several other departments report to the VCDS,^[2] who is appointed by the CDS.^[3]

Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Vice-chef d’état-major de la Défense
Emblem of the VCDS
Incumbent Lieutenant-General Stephen Kelsey since 1 August 2024[1]
Canadian Armed Forces
Type	Commissioned Officer
Status	Currently constituted
Abbreviation	VCDS
Reports to	Chief of the Defence Staff
Formation	1964
First holder	Geoffrey Walsh
Deputy	DG Executive Coordination Chief of Staff VCDS
Website	Official website

Recent history

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman was temporarily relieved as VCDS on January 13, 2017, due to an ongoing investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.^[4] As a temporary replacement, Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd was appointed the duties of VCDS on an acting basis, and he was subsequently replaced by Lieutenant-General Alain Parent on May 30, 2017.^[5]

On July 16, 2018, Lieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk was named Vice Chief of the Defence Staff.^[6] On July 9, 2019, Wynnyk announced his retirement^[7] after he claimed that the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance, planned to replace him as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff with Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.^[8] Wynnyk then alleged that these plans were reversed when Vice-Admiral Norman settled with the government and retired from the military. Wynnyk was the fifth Vice Chief to serve under Vance.^[8]

On July 12, 2019, Lieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier was appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, effective July 18, 2019.^[9] On March 16, 2020, it was announced that Lanthier was retiring in the summer, to be replaced by Lieutenant-General Michael Rouleau.^[10]

In March 2021, it was announced that Rouleau would be succeeded by Lieutenant-General Frances J. Allen, the first woman to hold the position.^[11] On June 28, 2021, she formally assumed the role of VCDS in a ceremony at National Defence Headquarters.^[12]

Vice Chiefs of the Defence Staff

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Home Province	Defence branch	Appointed by	Ref.
1		Walsh, GeoffreyLieutenant-General Geoffrey Walsh (1909–1999)	1964	1965	0–1 years	Ontario	Canadian Army	Miller, FrankFrank Miller	[13]
2		Moncel, RobertLieutenant-General Robert Moncel (1917–2007)	1965	1966	0–1 years	Quebec	Canadian Army	Miller, FrankFrank Miller	[14]
3		Sharp, FrederickLieutenant-General Frederick Sharp (1915–1992)	1966	1969	2–3 years	Saskatchewan	Royal Canadian Air Force	Allard, JeanJean Allard	[15]
4		Dare, MichaelLieutenant-General Michael Dare (1917–1996)	September 1969	1972	2–3 years	Quebec	Canadian Army	Sharp, FrederickFrederick Sharp	[15]
5		Hull, ChesterLieutenant-General Chester Hull (1919–2012)	1972	1974	1–2 years	Ontario	Royal Canadian Air Force	Dextraze, JacquesJacques Dextraze	[16]
6		Falls, RobertVice-Admiral Robert Falls (1924–2009)	1974	1977	2–3 years	Ontario	Royal Canadian Navy	Dextraze, JacquesJacques Dextraze	[17]
7		Withers, RamseyLieutenant-General Ramsey Withers (1930–2014)	1977	1980	2–3 years	Ontario	Canadian Army	Falls, RobertRobert Falls	[18]
8		Allan, JohnVice-Admiral John Allan (1928–2014)	1980	1982	1–2 years	Ontario	Royal Canadian Navy	Withers, RamseyRamsey Withers	[19]
9		Thériault, Gérard Charles ÉdouardLieutenant-General Gérard Charles Édouard Thériault (1932–1998)	1982	1983	0–1 years	Quebec	Royal Canadian Air Force	Withers, RamseyRamsey Withers	[20]
10		Mainguy, DanielVice-Admiral Daniel Mainguy (1930–2010)	1983	1985	1–2 years	British Columbia	Royal Canadian Navy	Thériault, GérardGérard Charles Édouard Thériault	[21]
11		Vance, JackLieutenant-General Jack Vance (1933–2013)	1985	1988	2–3 years	Ontario	Canadian Army	Thériault, GérardGérard Charles Édouard Thériault	[22]
12		Chastelain, JohnLieutenant-General John de Chastelain (born 1937)	1988	1989	0–1 years	Romania	Canadian Army	Manson, PaulPaul Manson	[23]
13		Thomas, CharlesVice-Admiral Charles Thomas (born 1936)	1989	11 May 1991	1–2 years	British Columbia	Royal Canadian Navy	Manson, PaulPaul Manson	[24]
14		Sutherland, FredLieutenant-General Fred Sutherland (born 1942)	1991	1992	0–1 years	Nova Scotia	Royal Canadian Air Force	Chastelain, JohnJohn de Chastelain	[25]
15		Anderson, JohnVice-Admiral John Anderson (born 1941)	1992	1993	0–1 years	British Columbia	Royal Canadian Navy	Chastelain, JohnJohn de Chastelain	[26]
16		O'Donnell, PatrickLieutenant-General Patrick O'Donnell (1940–2015)	1993	1995	1–2 years	Ontario	Canadian Army	Anderson, JohnJohn Anderson	[27]
17		Murray, LarryVice-Admiral Larry Murray (born 1947)	1995	1997	1–2 years	Ontario	Royal Canadian Navy	Chastelain, JohnJohn de Chastelain	[28]
18		Garnett, GaryVice-Admiral Gary Garnett	1997	2001	3–4 years	British Columbia	Royal Canadian Navy	Baril, MauriceMaurice Baril	[29]
19		Macdonald, GeorgeLieutenant-General George Macdonald	2001	2004	2–3 years	.	Royal Canadian Air Force	Henault, RayRaymond Henault	[30]
20		Buck, RonaldVice-Admiral Ronald Buck	2004	2006	1–2 years	Quebec	Royal Canadian Navy	Henault, RayRaymond Henault	[31]
21		Natynczyk, WalterLieutenant-General Walter Natynczyk (born 1957)	28 June 2006	15 June 2008	1 year, 353 days	Manitoba	Canadian Army	Hillier, RickRick Hillier	[32]
22		Rouleau, DenisVice-Admiral Denis Rouleau	15 June 2008	25 July 2010	2 years, 40 days	Quebec	Royal Canadian Navy	Hillier, RickRick Hillier	[33]
23		Donaldson, BruceVice-Admiral Bruce Donaldson	26 July 2010	11 September 2013	3 years, 47 days	.	Royal Canadian Navy	Natynczyk, WalterWalter Natynczyk	[34]
24		Thibault, GuyLieutenant-General Guy Thibault	11 September 2013	5 August 2016	2 years, 329 days	Quebec	Canadian Army	Lawson, ThomasThomas Lawson	[35]
25		Norman, MarkVice-Admiral Mark Norman (born 1964)	5 August 2016	13 January 2017	161 days	Ontario	Royal Canadian Navy	Vance, JonathanJonathan Vance	[36]
-		Lloyd, RonVice-Admiral Ron Lloyd (born 1963) Acting	13 January 2017	30 May 2017	137 days	.	Royal Canadian Navy	.	.
-		Parent, AlainLieutenant-General Alain Parent Acting	30 May 2017	16 July 2018	1 year, 47 days	.	Royal Canadian Air Force	.	.
26		Wynnyk, PaulLieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk (born 1964)	16 July 2018	9 July 2019	358 days	Alberta	Canadian Army	Vance, JonathanJonathan Vance	[6]
27		Lanthier, Jean-MarcLieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier	18 July 2019	15 July 2020	363 days	.	Canadian Army	Vance, JonathanJonathan Vance	[37]
28		Rouleau, MichaelLieutenant-General Michael Rouleau (born 1967)	15 July 2020	14 June 2021	334 days	.	Canadian Special Operations Forces Command	Vance, JonathanJonathan Vance	[38]
29		Allen, FrancesLieutenant-General Frances J. Allen	28 June 2021	1 August 2024	4 years, 38 days	.	Royal Canadian Air Force	Eyre, WayneWayne Eyre (acting)	[39][12]
30		Kelsey, StephenLieutenant-General Stephen Kelsey	1 August 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 4 days	.	Canadian Army	Carignan, JennieJennie Carignan	[1]