Judge Advocate General (Canada)


Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces is the title of the senior legal officer who oversees the administration of military justice in the Canadian Armed Forces and provides legal advice on military matters to the governor general, the minister of national defence, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. The office is defined in section 9 of the National Defence Act.
The 16th and current holder of the office is Brigadier-General Rob Holman, since June 28, 2023.

Office of the Judge Advocate General

The office consists of 159 regular force legal officer positions and 64 reserve force legal officer positions. Regular force legal officers are deployed as follows:

List of judge advocates general

  1. Major-General Henry Smith, 1911-1918
  2. Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver Mowat Biggar, 1918-1920
  3. Brigadier Reginald John Orde, 1920-1950
  4. Brigadier-General William J. Lawson, 1950-1969
  5. Brigadier-General Harold A. McLearn, 1969-1972
  6. Brigadier-General James M. Simpson, 1972-1976
  7. Major-General John Patterson Wolfe, 1976-1982
  8. Brigadier-General Frank Karwandy, 1982-1986
  9. Brigadier-General Robert L. Martin, 1986-1990
  10. Commodore Peter R. Partner, 1990-1993
  11. Brigadier-General Pierre G. Boutet, 1993-1998
  12. Major-General Jerry S.T. Pitzul, 1998-2006
  13. Brigadier-General Ken Watkin, 2006-2010
  14. Major-General B. Blaise Cathcart, 2010-2017
  15. Rear-Admiral Geneviève Bernatchez, 2017-2023
  16. Brigadier-General Rob Holman, 2023-