Lgén (ret.) Michael Day
Lieutenant-General Michael Day joined the Canadian Forces in 1983 and trained as an Infantry Officer before joining the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment. He has commanded at every level and rank in a variety of units and deployed around the globe. In addition to having the privilege of serving and commanding within his Regiment, the majority of his field and command time was as an Operator within Canada’s Counter Terrorist and Special Forces community commanding both Joint Task Force Two (JTF 2), Canada’s Special Operations Forces Command, the latter during Canada’s hosting of the Winter Olympics, as well as a variety of other command assignments.
With the majority of his time spent in Command, LGen Day also served in a variety of Senior Staff appointments including as the Canadian Armed Forces Senior Military Officer in the Defense Policy Group, and the Chief Strategic Planner for the future of the Canadian Armed Forces where he also oversaw the development of the Department of National Defense’s Space and Cyber Programs.
LGen Day has deployed operationally to Africa, the Balkans on three separate occasions, the Middle East, and Afghanistan twice. Additionally, he has lived in Naples Italy where he was responsible for the preparation, training and oversight of NATO’s Response Force at Joint Integrated Headquarters, the command of which consisted of a variety of Subordinate Commands distributed throughout Europe.
LGen Day has earned significant honors and awards, including the US Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Cross and is one of only 55 recipients of the US Operations Command Medal. He has been inducted into the Order of Military Merit at both the Officer and subsequently Commander Grades, has received the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross for his service in Afghanistan as well as receiving various international awards such as the US Legion of Merit, US Special Operations Command Medal and the Polish Silver Medal.
LGen Day retired from the Military in September 2015 and currently is a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and the President of the PPCLI Charitable Foundation. He holds a degree in Political Studies (with distinction) from the University of Manitoba and a Masters of Arts in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, where he focused on International Relations and Special Operations.