Angus Topshee, Canada’s longest-serving recent naval commander, appointed Vice Chief of Defence Staff
Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, is being elevated to the second-highest position in the Canadian Armed Forces, replacing a retiring Vice Chief of Defence Staff in a leadership transition set for mid-June.
The Canadian Armed Forces announced this week that Topshee will succeed Vice Chief of Defence Staff Stephen Kelsey, who is retiring after two years in the role. Topshee will formally hand over command of the navy on June 15 at HMCS Star in Hamilton, Ontario.
A new naval commander steps up
Rear-Admiral Dan Charlebois, currently Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, will assume command of the fleet following Topshee’s departure.
Topshee’s tenure as the 38th Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy will have lasted just under four years — the longest continuous time in that role since Vice-Admiral Wood held the position in the mid-1980s.
A career spanning three decades
Topshee was born in Nepean, Ontario, and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1990. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, including an exchange term at the Australian Defence Force Academy, before earning a Master of Letters in Strategic Studies from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland in 1996.
He began formal naval warfare officer training that same year and joined his first ship, HMCS Winnipeg, in 1997. Over the following nine years, he served primarily at sea on Canada’s Pacific coast, progressing through roles as Navigating Officer, Operations Officer, and Combat Officer.
In 2005, Topshee attended the senior course at the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He subsequently served as Executive Officer aboard two frigates — HMCS St. John’s and HMCS Toronto — before moving to National Defence Headquarters to help develop a new strategy for the Royal Canadian Navy.
Command at sea and on shore
In 2009, Topshee took command of HMCS Algonquin, flagship of Canada’s Pacific Fleet. His time aboard included security operations for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and a five-month deployment across the central and western Pacific.
He commanded Canadian Forces Base Halifax from 2012 to 2015, then served at NORAD and United States Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado before returning to the West Coast in 2018 to lead Canadian Fleet Pacific.
Topshee was promoted to Rear-Admiral in April 2021 and assumed command of Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific the following month. He was elevated to Vice-Admiral and appointed Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy in May 2022.
