Senator Rebecca Patterson

Rear-Admiral (Retired) the Honourable Rebecca Patterson is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces with thirty-four years of service. She is the first individual with a military nursing background to achieve flag rank and to command the Canadian Forces Health Service. In 2022, she was appointed to the Senate of Canada to represent Ontario. As the first military veteran who is a woman to be appointed to the Senate of Canada, she focuses on defence, security, and intelligence issues while providing a voice in Parliament for those who serve and have served in the Canadian Armed Forces and their families.

Arming Canada with health security and capacity can’t be an afterthought

Ottawa must commit to concrete federal health-care transfers that prioritize health security, including permanent surge capacity and other measures, as an integral part of defence spending.

opinion | BY SENATOR REBECCA PATTERSON, ANDREW BECKETT | April 15, 2026

Four years on: Canada, Ukraine, and the end of familiar assumptions

The question is no longer whether we support Ukraine or not, but how we do so in a world where old assumptions no longer hold.

opinion | BY SENATOR REBECCA PATTERSON, ALEXANDER LANDRY | February 19, 2026

Enhancing Arctic security a must to mount sovereignty defence

We can no longer think of borders alone as firewalls to keep threats out.

opinion | BY SENATOR REBECCA PATTERSON | April 16, 2025

Canadians can no longer afford to be complacent

Though Canada has long maintained mutually beneficial relationships with many of our allies, the current geopolitical reality shows a turbulent road ahead with threats to our economic security and well-being. When one of every six jobs in the country is supported by Canadian exports, a foreign state that weaponizes trade is a direct threat to Canadian jobs and livelihoods.