Major-General the Honourable Sir Eugène Fiset KT, CMG, DSO, ED, GGHS, BA, MB, MD, MS was the first Surgeon General after the establishment of the Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1904 (renamed the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1919), the creation of which was the second step in bringing all military health personnel under unified administration. Appointed Director General Medical Services as a colonel in 1903, he was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister of Militia and Defence in 1906 and promoted to Surgeon General in 1914. (Until 1917, Surgeon General was not an appointment, but the general officer rank for medical officers in the Imperial and British colonial services, normally equivalent to major-general but originally limited to colonel by regulations governing the Canadian militia prior to 1906). After retirement in 1923, he was elected Member of Parliament for Rimouski and appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec in 1939.[8][9][10][11][12]
18. Brigadier SGU ShierOBE, CD, MD March 1956 (Note 1)
19. Brigadier P TremblayOBE, MD October 1958 (Note 1)
Note 1: The Canadian Army established separate Directors or Directors General Medical Services for their overseas forces in 1914 to 1920 and 1940 to 1946. The medical services of the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force were led by separate Directors General from 1940 to 1959. Prior to 1940, the Royal Canadian Navy's medical service was too small to have a full-time medical directorate and from 1911 until 1924 the senior naval surgeon in Halifax acted as Principal Medical Officer, ensuring Royal Navy medical regulations were correctly applied to the RCN..[23][24]
38. Brigadier-General JJ-RS BernierOMM, CD, QHP, MD, MPH, DEH, DSc(hon), FRCPC(hon), rmc, plsc July 2012.[30][31][32] On transfer to the Primary Reserve component he was promoted Major-General[33] and served as the chair of the Chiefs of Medical Services (COMEDS) of NATO 2015–2018[34]
40. Brigadier-General AMT Downes CD, QHP, MD, MPH July 2017.[37][38][39] Promoted Major-General in 2019.[40]
41. Major-General (Acting While So Employed) Marc Bilodeau, CD, MD, CCFP(EM), FCFP July 2020. (Note 3). Promoted substantive Major-General 2022.[41]
Note 2: Command and Director General responsibilities were held separately by Major-General MJL Mathieu CMM, CD, MSc, LLD(hon), CHE (Jan 2000–Apr 2005)[42][43] and Commodore MF Kavanagh OMM, OStJ, CD, MD, MHA, CHE (Apr 2005–Jul 2007)[44][45][46][47]
Note 3: Command and Director General responsibilities held by Rear-Admiral Rebecca L. Patterson, OMM, MSM, CD, RN (Jul 2020-2021)[48] and Brigadier-General Scott F. Malcolm holds command responsibilities from Jul 2021[49]
References
^Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces article 34.011
^Canadian Forces Health Services Group Surgeon General’s Report 2010. Retrieved on 1 February 2012 from "CFHS - Surgeon Generalīs Report 2010". Archived from the original on 2011-12-27. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
^Feasby, W.R. Official History of the Canadian Medical Services 1939 -1945, Volume One Ottawa: Edmond Cloutier, Queens Printer and Controller of Stationery, 1953)
^Seventy Years of Service – A History of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, GWL Nicholson Borealis Press, Ottawa, 1977
^Seventy Years of Service – A History of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, GWL Nicholson Borealis Press, Ottawa, 1977
^Seventy Years of Service – A History of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, GWL Nicholson Borealis Press, Ottawa, 1977. The original wording of the title in General Orders was never used in practice, instead the British standard term 'Director General Medical Services' was immediately employed and was used in all subsequent general orders governing the medical service.
^Seventy Years of Service – A History of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, GWL Nicholson Borealis Press, Ottawa, 1977
^Royal Canadian Medical Service – Introduction to its History and Heritage. Director General Health Services, Department of National Defence, Ottawa, 2003. Retrieved on 1 February 2012 from [1]
^A Story of the Canadian Forces Medical Services As Told By The Colonel Commandant On The Occasion Of The 25th Anniversary Of Its Formation, Department of National Defence, Ottawa, December 1983.
^The Myriad Challenges of Peace: Canadian Forces Medical Practitioners Since The Second World War. Bill Rawling. Canadian Government Publishing Communication Canada, Ottawa, 2004
^Wright, Harold M. (1999). Salute to the Air Force Medical Branch on the 75th Anniversary: Royal Canadian Air Force. Ottawa: Harold M. Wright. p. 12. ISBN0-9686588-0-6
