Chief of Defence Staff (Canada)

Chief of the Defence Staff Chef d'état-major de la Défense
Navy admiral Army general Air Force general The incumbent will have either Navy, Army or Air Force rank insignia
Incumbent General Jonathan Vance CMM MSC CD since 17 July 2015
Her Majesty's Canadian Armed Forces
Type	Commissioned officer
Status	Currently constituted
Abbreviation	CDS
Reports to	Commander-in-Chief
Term length	At Her Majesty's pleasure
Formation	1964
Deputy	Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Website	http://www.cds-cemd.forces.gc.ca/

The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) (French: chef d'état-major de la Défense) is the second most senior member of the Canadian Armed Forces (after the commander-in-chief) and heads the Armed Forces Council, having primary responsibility for command, control, and administration of the forces, as well as military strategy, plans, and requirements. The position is held by a senior member of one of the three main branches of the Canadian Armed Forces. The current CDS, since 17 July 2015, is Jonathan Vance.

Until 1964, there existed a Chief of the Naval Staff, as head of the Royal Canadian Navy; a Chief of the General Staff, as head of the Canadian Army; and a Chief of the Air Staff, as head of the Royal Canadian Air Force. A position known as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee existed, which had a loose coordination function, although it lacked the command and control responsibilities of the later position of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).

The position of Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the positions of the three service chiefs were abolished in 1964 and replaced by the position of CDS. This change was based on a white paper initiated by Paul Hellyer, Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet headed by Lester B. Pearson. Following the tabling of the white paper, the minister introduced legislation that took effect in August 1964. The newly established Chief of the Defence Staff was to "head all of Canada's military forces, backed by a defence headquarters that was integrated and restructured to reflect six so-called functional commands, replacing eleven former service commands. Functional described a command that was non-geographic and beyond any particular service or traditional arm." In May 1967, Bill C-243 was passed by parliament and was effective as of 1 February 1968. The law dissolved the three armed services and created the Canadian Armed Forces under the command of the CDS.