Canadian Forces ranks and insignia

This is a table of the ranks and insignia of the Canadian Forces. As the Canadian Forces is officially bilingual, the French language ranks are presented following the English (in italics).

Commander-in-Chief

The Queen of Canada, represented by the Governor General of Canada is the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces and in that capacity wears the appropriate Canadian Forces uniform.^[1] The sleeve braid is embellished with the Royal Crest of Canada and this same embroidered crest is worn on the shoulder straps.

Commander-in-Chief as
Naval Officer	Army Officer	Air Force Officer
			Crest of the Arms of Canada

Flag officer / General officer rank insignia

Navy sleeve insignia (1968-2010)[2]	Navy sleeve insignia (since 2010)	Navy Shoulder insignia[2]	Army[3]		Air Force[4]		Description
Admiral / amiral			General / général
							St. Edward's crown, crossed sabre and baton, four maple leaves
Vice-Admiral / vice-amiral			Lieutenant-General[5] / lieutenant-général
							St. Edward's crown, crossed sabre and baton, three maple leaves
Rear-Admiral / contre-amiral			Major-General / major-général
							St. Edward's crown, crossed sabre and baton, two maple leaves
Commodore			Brigadier-General / brigadier-général
							St. Edward's crown, crossed sabre and baton, one maple leaf

Officer rank insignia

Navy sleeve insignia (1968-2010)[2]	Navy sleeve insignia (since 2010)	Army[3]	Air Force[4]	Description
Captain(N) / Capitaine de vaisseau		Colonel
				Four standard gold stripes (naval with executive curl)
Commander / Capitaine de frégate		Lieutenant-Colonel[5] / Lieutenant-colonel
				Three standard gold stripes (naval with executive curl) (Lieutenant pronounced leftenant)
Lieutenant-Commander[5] / Capitaine de corvette		Major
				One thin gold stripe between two standard gold stripes (naval with executive curl) (lieutenant pronounced leftenant)
Lieutenant (N)[5] / Lieutenant de vaisseau		Captain / Capitaine
				Two standard gold stripes (naval with executive curl) (Lieutenant pronounced leftenant)
Sub-Lieutenant[5] / Enseigne de vaisseau de première classe		Lieutenant[5]
				Navy (before 2010), Army and Air Force: One half stripe over standard stripe Navy (after 2010): One standard stripe with executive curl over a half stripe (lieutenant pronounced leftenant)
Acting Sub-Lieutenant[5] / Enseigne de vaisseau de deuxième classe		Second Lieutenant[5] / Sous-lieutenant
				One standard stripe (naval with executive curl) (lieutenant pronounced leftenant)
Naval Cadet / Aspirant de marine		Officer Cadet / Élève-officier
				One half stripe

Non-commissioned member rank insignia

Navy[2]	Army[3]	Air Force[4]	Description
Senior Ranks (Rangs supérieurs)
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class (CPO 1) Premier maître de 1re classe (pm 1)	Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Adjudant-chef (adjuc)	Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Adjudant-chef (adjuc)	The 1957 version of the Coat of Arms of Canada
Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class (CPO 2) Premier maître de 2e classe (pm 2)	Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Adjudant-maître (adjum)	Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Adjudant-maître (adjum)	St. Edward's Crown within a laurel wreath
Petty Officer 1st Class (PO 1) Maître de 1re classe (m 1)	Warrant Officer (WO) Adjudant (adj)	Warrant Officer (WO) Adjudant (adj)	St. Edward's Crown
Petty Officer 2nd Class (PO 2) Maître de 2e classe (m 2)	Sergeant (Sgt) Sergent (sgt)	Sergeant (Sgt) Sergent (sgt)	Three inverted chevrons surmounted by a maple leaf
Junior Ranks (Rangs subalternes)
Master Seaman (MS) Matelot-chef (matc)	Master Corporal (MCpl) Caporal-chef (cplc)	Master Corporal (Mcpl) Caporal-chef (cplc)	Two inverted chevrons surmounted by a maple leaf. Note that Master Corporal/Master Seaman is an appointment, not a rank.
Leading Seaman (LS) Matelot de 1re classe (mat 1)	Corporal (Cpl) Caporal (cpl)	Corporal (Cpl) Caporal (cpl)	Two inverted chevrons
Able Seaman (AB) Matelot de 2e classe (mat 2)	Private (Pte) Soldat (sdt)	Private (Pte) Soldat (sdt)	One inverted chevron
Ordinary Seaman (OS) Matelot de 3e classe (mat 3)	Private (Pte (Basic)) Soldat recrue (sdt (recrue))	Private (Pte (Basic)) Soldat recrue (sdt (recrue))	No insignia

Distinctive rank names

Some branches and regiments use distinctive rank names in place of Master Corporal, Corporal and Private:

Branch	Master Corporal	Corporal	Private
Armoured Branch	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Trooper (cavalier)
Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery	Master Bombardier (bombardier-chef)	Bombardier (bombardier)	Gunner (artilleur)
Military Engineering Branch	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Sapper (sappeur)
Communications and Electronics Branch	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Signalman (signaleur)
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Branch	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Craftsman (artisan)
Infantry Branch members of guards regiments	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Guardsman (garde)
Infantry Branch members of rifle regiments	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Rifleman (carabinier)
Infantry Branch members of fusilier regiments	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Fusilier (fusilier)

The officers of some army regiments wear pre-unification rank insignia on their ceremonial uniforms (full dress and patrol dress). These insignia are nearly identical to those of the British Army: see British Army officer rank insignia for details. In the guard regiments, Warrant Officers are known as Colour Sergeants and second lieutenants are known as Ensigns.

Lt Cmd (medical)'s sleeve variant

Except for those who acquired the Canadian Forces Mess Dress after 1968, naval officers have always worn the Royal Navy-style executive curl rank insignia on mess uniforms (see Royal Navy officer rank insignia). The colour designations for specialist officers are not used except for naval medical officers who may use a variant of the standard rank slip-ons and shoulder boards incorporating a scarlet red background between the gold stripes of their rank and naval medical service officers (Nursing Officers, Pharmacy Officers, Health Care Administration Officers, Social Work Officers, Physiotherapy Officers, and Bioscience Officers) who have shoulder boards incorporating a dull cherry red background between the strips of their rank.

The Royal Canadian Navy and the executive curl

When the Canadian Navy was established in 1910 it was natural to adopt the same straight rings with the executive curl for the permanent navy that was designated as the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in August 1911 and subsequently the “wavy” shaped rings for the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) and the rings of narrow interwoven gold lace for the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve (RCNR). Other variations in rank insignia included sky blue lace with a diamond shaped loop for officers of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service and warranted Sea Cadet Corps Officers who had a small anchor in place of the executive curl.

Following the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Navy was reorganized with a single reserve component. In 1946 the distinctive wavy gold braid of the reserves gave way to the straight braided executive curl of the regular force until 1968. With the integration of the Canadian Forces the sea element was designated as Canadian Forces Maritime Command. Unembellished straight braid became the common rank insignia for officers of both the Regular and Reserve Forces. The executive curl rank insignia has been in continuous use in the Canadian Navy, but from 1968 to 2010 it appeared only on navy mess dress.

On March 5, 2010, the Canadian House of Commons passed a motion (moved by Guy Lauzon^[6]) recommending the executive curl be reinstated on the Canadian navy uniform. Subsequently, in recognition of the Canadian Naval Centennial, Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, authorized the use of the executive curl for the Canadian Navy on May 2, 2010. The insignia became effective on June 11, 2010, on the occasion of the Pacific Canadian Naval International Fleet Review parade of nations in Victoria, B.C.^[7][8]

More than 54 countries including Canada and 18 other of the 22 Commonwealth navies use the insignia. Most navies that do not use the executive curl insignia substitute a star or other national device above the top row of lace such as the United States Navy and the French Navy.

See also

Canadian Armed Forces portal

• Historic Royal Canadian Air Force ranks (1924–1968)
• List of comparative military ranks
• Former ranks of the Canadian Forces

References

1. ^ The Governor General of Canada Ranks and Insignia. Retrieved on: 2010-06-20.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} National Defence Canada Navy Rank and Appointment Insignia. Retrieved on: 2010-06-20
3. ^ ^{a b c} National Defence Canada Army Rank and Appointment Insignia. Retrieved on: 2010-06-20
4. ^ ^{a b c} National Defence Canada Air Force Rank and Appointment Insignia. Retrieved on: 2010-06-20
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} In the Canadian military lieutenant is pronounced /lɛfˈtɛnənt/ in English.^{[citation needed]}
6. ^ "Guy Lauzon on Canadian Navy". Hansard. March 5, 2010. http://openparliament.ca/hansards/2171/184/only/. Retrieved January 10, 2011. 
7. ^ Marotte. B. (May. 03, 2010). "Navy celebrates centennial by restoring historic insignia." The Globe and Mail. Retrieved on: 2010-06-20.
8. ^ National Defence Canada. Photo of the day archive. Retrieved on: 2010-06-20.

External links

• Canadian Forces ranks and appointment insignia - official site with images of rank insignia for Navy, Army and Air Force.