In the Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

, the rank of lieutenant-commander (LCdr) ( or ) is the naval

Canadian Forces Maritime Command

The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...

 rank equal to major

Major (Canada)

Major is a rank of the Canadian Forces. The rank insignia of a major is two half-inch stripes with a quarter-inch stripe between. Majors fill the positions of Company/Squadron/Battery Commanders, or Deputy Commanders of a Battalion/Regiment; in the Air Force they are typically squadron...

 in the army

Canadian Forces Land Force Command

The Canadian Army , previously called Land Force Command, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. The current size of the Army is 19,500 regular soldiers and 16,000 reserve soldiers, for a total of around 35,500 soldiers...

 or air force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

 and is the first rank of senior officer. Lieutenant-commanders are senior to lieutenant (N)

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

s and to army and air force captains, and are junior to commander

Commander (Canada)

In the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank of Commander is a Naval rank equal to a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Army or Air Force. A Commander is senior to aLieutenantCommander or an Army or Air Force Major, and junior to a Captain or Colonel....

s and lieutenant-colonel

Lieutenant-Colonel (Canada)

In the Canadian Forces, the rank of lieutenant-colonel is an Army or Air Force rank equal to a commander of the Navy. A lieutenant-colonel is the second-highest rank of senior officer...

s.

Typical appointments for a lieutenant-commander include:

• Commanding officer
  Commanding officer
  The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
  
   of a minor warship, submarine or reserve division.
• Executive officer
  Executive officer
  An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
  
   or head of department of a frigate
  Halifax class frigate
  The Halifax-class frigate is a class of multi-role patrol frigates that have served the Royal Canadian Navy since 1992...
  
  , destroyer
  Iroquois class destroyer
  Iroquois-class destroyers, also known as Tribal class, are a class of four helicopter-carrying, guided missile destroyers of the Canadian Forces. Launched in the 1970s, they were originally fitted out for anti-submarine warfare, but a major upgrade programme in the 1990s overhauled them for...
  
  , supply ship
  Protecteur class auxiliary vessel
  Protecteur-class auxiliary oiler replenishment ships are used by the Royal Canadian Navy to resupply ships at sea with food, munitions, fuel and spare parts. They have more sophisticated medical and dental facilities than smaller vessels...
  
  , reserve division or training establishment.
• Staff officer on a formation or task group headquarters
  Headquarters
  Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
  
   staff.

The rank insignia for a lieutenant-commander is two ½-inch (13 mm) stripes with a ¼-inch (6.4 mm) stripe between, worn on the cuffs of the service dress jacket, and on slip-on

Slip-on

A shoulder mark, also called a shoulder board, shoulder loop, shoulder slide, rank slide, slip on, epaulette sleeve, or an epaulette, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia...

s on other uniforms. As senior officers, they wear one row of gold oak leaves along the edge of the visor of their service caps. Lieutenant-commanders of the Naval Operations Branch

Naval Operations Branch

The Naval Operations Branch is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces. The branch consists of most of the sea-going trades of the Royal Canadian Navy.-Naval Officers Training Centre :...

 wear the officer's pattern of the branch cap badge: an anchor on a black oval, surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves at the sides and base of the oval, the whole surmounted by the St Edward's Crown. Specialist officers in such branches as logistics, intelligence, medical, etc., wear their branch cap badges.

Prior to unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, rank structure and insignia followed the British pattern

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

. As part of the Canadian Naval Centennial the executive curl pattern of naval officer's rank was returned to all uniforms.