Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet becomes first woman to head the Royal Canadian Air Force

Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet smiles as she speaks with media after assuming command of the Airforce during a change of command ceremony at the Museum of Aviation in Ottawa on Thursday, July 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet has become the first woman to lead the Royal Canadian Air Force.

She took the reins from Lt.-Gen. Eric Kenny at a change-of-command ceremony, presided over by the Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan, in Ottawa today.

Kenny is retiring after three-and-a-half decades of service in the air force.

Speiser-Blanchet has served as a Griffon helicopter pilot and in various command roles, most recently as deputy commander of the air force.

Her operational deployments included UN and NATO peacekeeping tours in Haiti and Bosnia, along with domestic deployments in response to emergencies such as forest fires and floods.

Speiser-Blanchet comes from Chicoutimi, Que., and is now the 22nd commander of the RCAF.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press