Oh, Canada! Defense chief crying on stage is pitiful virtue signaling – sending the wrong signal

Canada’s top defense officer cried on stage this week.

On Thursday, General Jennie Carignan, Canada’s first female Chief of the Defence Staff, the highest rank in the Canadian Armed Forces, stood in Ottawa and issued a tearful apology for what she called “systemic racism” inside the Canadian Armed Forces.

She wept as she declared that “racism has no place” in the military and promised a long list of reforms -anti-racism training, systemic bias reviews, and the dismantling of “institutional barriers.”

Let’s be clear: No one is defending racism. But what happened on that stage wasn’t strength, but rather weakness masquerading as virtue.

This wasn’t a commander leading her troops into battle. It was a bureaucrat reading a script designed by political consultants. The apology wasn’t even required by law. It was just part of the new virtue signaling political ritual in which the armed forces bow before progressive ideology instead of projecting power.

Carignan’s tears were broadcast across Canada, praised by the CBC, The Globe and Mail, and every other outlet that mistakes emotional display for moral courage.

But to the rest of the world – to our allies, to our adversaries – it looked like Canada’s military is now led by someone who breaks down under a teleprompter apology.

Imagine how this plays in Beijing or Moscow.

While General Carignan was apologizing for history, China was testing hypersonic missiles. Russia was rebuilding its Arctic military bases. And here stood the leader of Canada’s armed forces, crying on stage over institutional guilt. That’s not leadership. That’s surrender.

Compare that image to someone like Pete Hegseth, an Army combat veteran, battle-tested in Iraq and Afghanistan, who now champions strength, faith, and national pride as head of the Department of War. Hegseth represents what a warrior looks like: unapologetic, steady, and mission-focused. He doesn’t cry about his country’s flaws; he fights for its future.

A military’s purpose is to defend, not to wallow in self-criticism. Apologies don’t deter enemies. Emotional performances don’t inspire troops. And a defense chief’s tears don’t make a nation stronger. Canada looks more fragile than ever.

Canada once had a proud military tradition, from Vimy Ridge to Juno Beach in Normandy, forged in courage and sacrifice. Now it has a top general apologizing for the institution itself.

If Canada wants to be taken seriously on the world stage again, it needs fewer tears and more backbone.

Because when your general cries on stage, your country looks weak. And weakness, in a dangerous world, is an invitation.