Biography

Commander Owen Smith, CD

Commanding Officer, Regional Cadet Support Unit (Atlantic)

Cdr Owen Smith is the proud father of Dylan Smith (aspiring motocross champion/comedian) and the devoted husband of Sophie (Chartrand) Smith, who is a Department of National Defence civilian employee and certified Pastry Chef. He grew up in Nova Scotia and will always consider Atlantic Canada his home.

Cdr Smith graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Science in Computing Science in 1998 and he also holds a Masters of Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada.

Cdr Smith Joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a Cadet Instructor Cadre officer in 1995 and then in 2001 he enrolled in the Royal Canadian Navy as a Maritime Surface and Sub-Surface Officer. He proudly considers that he “grew up in Destroyers,” having served on HMCS IROQUOIS from 2003 until 2010, with a few short stints on HMCS ATHABASKAN and HMCS ALGONQUIN. During this time, he held the positions of Bridge Watch Keeper, Deck Officer, Naval Boarding Party Officer, and Shipborne Aircraft Controller. He deployed twice with HMCS IROQUOIS, first to the Mediterranean and Europe as the ship assumed duties as Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 Flag Ship in 2006, and then in 2008 when she assumed command of Combined Task Force 150 in the Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden.

Cdr Smith served as Operations Officer and Combat Officer on HMCS VILLE DE QUEBEC from 2011 to 2013, followed by the same positions in the Canadian Fleet Atlantic Staff from 2013 to 2015. Following this, he was the Combat Division Commander in Fleet School Atlantic and then took on the challenge of Deputy/J3 North America at the Canadian Joint Operations Command in 2017. Cdr Smith completed the Joint Command and Staff Program at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto in 2019.

Cdr Smith took Command of HMCS GLACE BAY in 2019 where he had the opportunities to command the Op PROJECTION WEST AFRICA 2020 deployment to build capacity with African partner nations. HMCS GLACE BAY deployed to the Arctic on Op NANOOK during the same year to show the Navy’s resolve in the pandemic environment. In 2021, he was appointed Executive Officer of HMCS VILLE DE QUEBEC.