Welcome Darin McRae - Vice President - Central

Welcome Darin McRae

Welcome Darin McRae!

I am pleased to welcome Darin McRae to the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, Central & Arctic family as our new Vice President, Central.

Lieutenant-Commander (Ret'd) Darin R. McRae is a senior executive leader with over 30 years of leadership experience in marine operations, training development, and strategic program management within the Canadian Armed Forces and the not-for-profit sector. His career and volunteer service reflect a strong commitment to safety, volunteer development, professional development, operational excellence, and risk-managed program delivery.

Darin currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Upper Canada Snowmobile Region (UCSR), where he leads the day-to-day operations across eastern Ontario. In this role he oversees a snowmobile trail network of 3391 kms of trails, 30 industrial groomers, 16 clubs, and upwards of 1,000 volunteers.

He previously completed a distinguished 29-year career with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a senior COATS Naval Reserve Officer, and retiring at the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. Throughout his service, he held senior national and regional appointments focused on training coordination, officer development, small craft operations, and sail training.

Notably, he oversaw the Cadet and Junior Canadian Ranger's (CJCR's) Small Craft Operator and Instructor Program, including training, certification, and life cycle material management. He has also led national training, quality assurance, and program evaluation initiatives, ensuring consistency, compliance, and continuous improvement across large organizations.

A dedicated educator. He has served as a professor and program developer at Algonquin College since 2010, teaching courses in business, project management, accounting and training development. He recently completed a major program update for the Military Arts and Science and Defense & Security programs.

A dedicated community volunteer, Darin has held provincial and national leadership roles with Sail Canada and Ontario Sailing Association. He was an instructor and master trainer for sail, power, cruising instructors and has enjoyed delivering PCOC and ROC(M) courses. His contributions to boating safety and community leadership have been recognized with the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and Sail Canada's volunteer of the Year award. He has also served as a director of UCSR, President of his local Snowmobile Club, instructor trainer with Sail Canada, instructor the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, and instructor with Navy League Cadets.
 
Darin holds a Bachelor of Military Arts and Science degree (Royal Military College of Canada), Bachelor of Education (Brock University), and a Master of Education (Distance Education) (Athabasca University).

He is a Certified Training and Development Professional (Institute for Performance and Learning), Chartered Manager (Canadian Institute of Management (CIM)), and Certified Change Practitioner (Prosci).

His awards include Commander National CJCR Support Group Commendation (2019) for Renewal, a Vice Chief of Defence Coin (2014) for leadership in Defence Renewal, and the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD) (2002) with Bar (2013) for long service and good conduct.

Darin joins us full-time effective June 1, 2026. He resides in Carlton Place, Ontario. Darin will be involved in a limited capacity prior to his effective start date, attending specific events in the meantime.

Please join me in welcoming Darin to the C&A family.


Darin's CCGA contact information is email darin@ccga-ca.com , phone 647-347-9689.

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