MacGregor: Jennie Carignan’s selection as Chief of Defence Staff sends a message about women in Canada’s military

Article content

There is a portrait of Jennie Carignan, at the time a major-general, in the exhibit of art about women and the military currently on at the Canadian War Museum. The painting, by contemporary artist Gertrude Kearns, is from Carignan’s time in Afghanistan. Carignan has stayed in the military and was appointed Wednesday by Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces Mary Simon as the new Chief of the Defence Staff.

Article content

The portrait, part of the Outside the Lines: Women Artists and War exhibit, runs until Jan. 5, 2025, then moves on to other museums. It features paintings, drawings, sculptures and more by 52 women. While these are fine works of art in themselves and deserve to be preserved, the exhibit also sends a strong message that wars are not fought just by men.

Women have always been there, either as camp followers tramping around battlefields behind their spouses and children through to the social revolutions caused by the First and Second World Wars in the 20th century. The Second World War, in particular, saw massive change with the recruitment of separate women’s units for the navy, army and air force. These were women who served in uniform and held actual rank that had to be recognized by their male colleagues.

Women have served in the Canada’s army since the First World War when many held  medical roles. Still, it was not until 1989 that they were finally allowed to serve in combat.

Most especially, great strides were made in recent years as women rose into the senior ranks and were finally accepted into combat roles. The war museum exhibit identifies Carignan as the first woman to lead a combat unit in the army, then serving as a lieutenant general.

Article content

Carignan, a mother of four, was commanding officer of 5 Combat Engineering Regiment. She has served as a peacekeeper in the Golan Heights, commanded the Task Force Kandahar Engineering Regiment in Afghanistan and served as commandant of Royal Military College Saint-Jean.

The military has been actively recruiting women in recent years. In 2016, then-chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance set a goal of making the military 25 per cent female by 2026. That goal is unlikely to be met at this late date.

Carignan, meanwhile, was appointed lieutenant-general in 2021 and promoted into the new position of Chief of Professional Conduct and Culture, with a mandate to prevent sexual assault in the military. It was a tall order, but insisted on by politicians and the public as, increasingly, sexual discrimination, harassment and generally poor conduct were cited by women as a major obstacle to attracting young women. The situation was not helped by the sexual conduct of several in the senior ranks in recent years, including Vance himself, who had a sexual relationship with a subordinate.

Article content

The Canadian Armed Forces is suffering a recruiting crisis that Defence Minister Bill Blair recently called “a death spiral.” The military needs to change many of its attitudes toward women. The current federal government bills itself as being feminist. Still, it is making little progress on this front.

Outside the Lines shows women as being continually active with the military in Canada, from the earliest arrivals of Europeans in the New World. Most of that time they were delegated to auxiliary roles. The exhibit shows their greater acceptance in the last century and into our own. It also deals with the frustration and disappointment that progress is so slow.

Artists as usual are often on the forefront of identifying these issues and speaking up for minorities suffering injustice. Action on these demands can only come from commands and commanders who set an example to those who do sign up for service. Carignan’s appointment sends a signal that should be heard.

Tom MacGregor writes about veterans and military heritage. @MacGregorTom.

Article content