CMM, MSM, CB (Ret’d)

Lieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk is a descendant of Ukrainian immigrants who homesteaded between Holden and Daysland in 1903. Raised in rural Alberta, he studied at both Royal Roads Military College and the Royal Military College of Canada, and was commissioned in the Canadian Army in 1986. Over the course of his military career, Paul was blessed to command troops on multiple occasions including 1 Combat Engineer Regiment from 1997 to 1999, 1 Area Support Group from 2004 to 2006, 3rd Canadian Division from 2010 to 2012, Canadian Forces Intelligence Command from 2014 to 2016, and the Canadian Army from 2016 to 2018.

It was in this last assignment that Paul oversaw the expansion and refinement of Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s mission to train Ukrainian soldiers on NATO standards and tactics.  Ultimately, over 30,000 Ukrainian troops were trained by Canadians and this contribution — combined with similar training done by our British, American and Swedish allies —  has greatly assisted Ukrainian forces in their ongoing struggle against Russian tyranny. During the same period, Paul also oversaw the planning and deployment of Canadian troops to Latvia, an ongoing mission to deter Russian aggression in the Baltic region.

Retiring from the Canadian Armed Forces in 2019, Paul currently serves as Alberta’s Deputy Minister of Health where he continues to speak out, when he can, about the critical need to support Ukraine in its ongoing struggle. He is deeply honoured to have been personally sanctioned by Russia.