MGen (Ret’d) Peter Dawe joined the Canadian Forces in 1990 and served with distinction for 35 years. Commissioned as an artillery officer before transferring to the infantry, he held command roles from platoon to brigade level, including Third Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. He also served in senior positions within Canadian Special Operations Forces, the Strategic Joint Staff, and key training institutions.
Peter deployed to Cyprus, Bosnia, and twice to Afghanistan, earning the Meritorious Service Medal and the U.S. Bronze Star Medal. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Military Merit in 2015 and then promoted within the order to the rank of Commander in 2019. He is a graduate of the National Security Program, the U.S. CAPSTONE Program, and Harvard’s Senior Executives in National and International Security Program. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Royal Military College of Canada in Military Arts and Science as well as Master’s degrees in Defence Studies and Public Administration.
From 2016 to 2021, he served as Deputy Commander and then Commander of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. In his final role as Chief of Combat Systems Integration, he led major modernization efforts across the Canadian Armed Forces.
Following his retirement from the Canadian Armed Forces in December 2025, Peter joined BDC as Vice President, Defence Strategy, where he now applies his extensive defence expertise to build a specialized team, strengthen BDC’s credibility in the defence ecosystem, and enhance support for entrepreneurs in this sector.
