CMF Profiles Election Coverage

Conservative Party of Canada Military Connections

Ambar Syed October 18, 2019

0 2 minutes read

Erin O’Toole

Erin O’Toole enrolled at the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston. He was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force at 8 Wing in Trenton, working at the Rescue Coordination Centre on search and rescue operations. He was later posted to 17 Wing in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to complete his training as an Air Navigator. He received his wings and in 1997, was posted to 12 Wing in Shearwater, Nova Scotia.

Erin flew with 423 Squadron as a Tactical Navigator on the CH-124 (Sea King) Helicopter. The Sea King flew in support of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) conducting anti-submarine, maritime surveillance, search and rescue, and naval support operations. Erin sailed with the RCN as part of the air detachment aboard the Canadian frigate HMCS St. John’s.

While serving at 12 Wing, Erin was promoted to the rank of Captain and later received the Canadian Forces Decoration (C.D.) for 12 years of faithful service to Canada. Erin has been a long-time member of Branch 178 of the Royal Canadian Legion and has worked with the Legion on their Remembrance Day activities for over a decade.

Ted Opitz

Ted Opitz enrolled as a private in the Canadian Army Reserves in 1978 and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel during 33 years of service.

Pierre Paul-Hus

Pierre Paul-Hus joined the ranks of the Régiment de la Chaudière, a unit of the Canada Armed Forces reserve. In 22 years of military service, he carried out two operational missions.

Alex Ruff

Alex Ruff joined the Canadian Armed Forces in June 1993. He attended the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston. He commissioned as an Infantry Officer into The Royal Canadian Regiment. Throughout his 25 years of service, he served in Petawawa, ON, Kingston, ON, Gagetown, NB, Toronto, ON, and Ottawa, ON. He has six operational deployments, including the QC/ON Ice Storm (1998), two peacekeeping tours in Bosnia (1998−99 and 2001), two tours in Afghanistan (2007 and 2012), and finally, one tour in Baghdad, Iraq (2018-19). He retired from the military in early 2019 as a Colonel.

Pierre St-Amant

Pierre joined the Army reserve as a private in the Sherbrooke Hussars. Had a 41-year career with the Canadian Military started, he completed his training to become the Signals Officer with the Army.