Welcome to the Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command Establishment Ceremony

The Honourable Bill Blair, MP

Minister of Defence (MND)

The Honourable Bill Blair was elected as the Member of Parliament for Scarborough Southwest in 2015. He has previously served as President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and as Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction.

Before entering politics, Minister Blair served the people of Toronto for over 39 years, starting as a beat officer in downtown Toronto and continuing with assignments in drug enforcement, organized crime units, and major criminal investigations. In 2005, he was named Chief of the Toronto Police Service, overseeing the largest municipal police service in Canada, and one of the largest in North America.

In recognition of his contributions to the policing profession, Minister Blair was named an Officer then a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. He is the proud recipient of the 2011 Beth Sholom Brotherhood Humanitarian Award, and was honoured in 2013 by the Canadian Tamil Congress for his leadership.

Minister Blair holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Criminology as well as a Certificate in Law Enforcement Administration from the University of Toronto. He is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy and the National Executive Institute.

General Jennie Carignan, CMM, MSC, MSM, CD

Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS)

A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada in Engineering, General Jennie Carignan was commissioned into the Canadian Military Engineers in 1990.

Since then, she commanded two Combat Engineer Regiments, Royal Military College Saint-Jean and the 2nd Canadian Division, where she led more than 10,000 soldiers and spearheaded crisis operations during the flood relief efforts in the spring of 2019 in Quebec. More recently, she led NATO Mission Iraq from November 2019 to November 2020. Gen Carignan participated in three previous expeditionary operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Golan Heights, and Afghanistan. From 2021 to 2023, Gen Carignan was appointed Chief of Professional Conduct and Culture.

Along the way, Gen Carignan earned a Master's degree in Business Administration from Université Laval and a second Master’s degree from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies. She is also a graduate of the National Security Studies Programme from Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Gen Carignan has been invested as Commander of the Order of Military Merit and is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal and the Meritorious Service Cross. She received the prestigious Gloire de l'Escolle medal which recognizes graduates from Université Laval who have distinguished themselves professionally and in service to their communities. She was recently awarded an honorary doctorate in Business Administration from Université Laval.

Gen Carignan was promoted to her current rank in July 2024 and appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff.

Married, Gen Carignan is the mother of four children, two of whom proudly serve in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Major-General Dave Yarker, CD

Commander-Designate, Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command

Major General (MGen) Dave Yarker joined the Canadian Forces in 1989, graduating from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Kingston in 1993. Following completion of Graduate studies and Signals officer Training in 1996 he served with 2 Bde as a Signals Officer in both 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and 2 Combat Engineer Regiment.

He has been employed as staff in project management, joint, operational and strategic communications planning and deployed as the Canadian J6 to both Kosovo and Afghanistan. He has had the honour of command at 2 Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group Headquarters and Signals Squadron, the Canadian Forces Network Operations Centre, and the Canadian Forces Information Operations Group.

Since 2010, he has had the good fortune to have been employed in the cyber operations field, commanding at Unit and Formation levels as well as holding key staff and liaison positions including with United States Cyber Command and Canada’s Communications Security Establishment.

In 2022, he was then appointed as Director General Information Management Operations and the Joint Force Cyber Component Commander which became the Director General Cyber and Command and Control Information Systems Operations in 2024.

He holds undergraduate degrees in Engineering Physics and History, along with master’s degrees in Engineering Physics and Defence Studies.

Major-General Yarker is married and the couple lives in Ottawa with their son.

He was promoted to his current rank in July 2024. On 26 September 2024, he is appointed Commander of the CAF Cyber Command.

Chief Warrant Officer Peter Holub, CD

Command Chief Warrant Officer-Designate, Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command

Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Chief Warrant Officer Peter Holub participated at a young age with Boy Scouts and Army Cadets. These experiences led him to join the Canadian Armed Forces in 1994 with the Primary Reserve as an Administrative Clerk with the 30th Field Regiment, RCA.

In 1996, he transferred to the Regular Force in the military engineering service to become a Water, Fuels and Environment Technician. In 2003, he occupationally transferred to become a Signals Intelligence Specialist.

CWO Holub has served with the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force in various capacities and in numerous locations in Canada and overseas. He was employed at 4 Wing Cold Lake, 8 Wing Trenton, CFB Kingston, CFS Leitrim Ottawa, National Defense Headquarters in Ottawa and 2 Wing Bagotville.

He has served in Engineer Augmentation Operations in a variety of capacities: Technician, Senior Technician, and Fluids Site Manager. He participated in operations as a ground electronic warfare detachment commander and remote systems electronic warfare specialist. He continued his career development by becoming the Career Manager for the professions of SIGINT Specialists and Cyber Operators. Following language training he was posted to 2 Wing Bagotville as the Squadron Warrant Officer for 2 Mission Support Squadron.

CWO Holub's operational tours of duty include supporting 441 Squadron on Operation ECHO, Italy, 23 Engineer Squadron on Operation KINETIC, Kosovo, TAL-DET as part of Operation APOLLO, at Camp Mirage. He was redeployed to Afghanistan on Operation ATHENA as a ground electronic warfare operator twice, once in support of ISAF and once in support of CANSOFCOM. He was deployed twice on Operation REASSURANCE, once with ATF-Romania AFAST 22 and most recently with ATF-Latvia AFAST 24.

His continued loyalty to the Canadian Armed Forces is largely due to the unwavering love and support of his wife and daughter.

CWO Holub is appointed the CAF Cyber Command Chief Warrant Officer.