Carmen McNary, Q.C., CD, ICD.D
Dentons Canada
Defining Your Purpose
Carman McNary is a native of Edmonton, Alberta and was raised west of the city at Stony Plain, Alberta. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts (1978) followed by a Bachelor of Laws (1981) from the University of Alberta, and has practiced law in Edmonton since 1982, first with a smaller firm, then at the Department of Justice Canada, and since 1999 at Dentons Canada LLP, the largest law office in Edmonton that is part of the world’s largest law firm. Carman was the Managing Partner of the Dentons Edmonton office from 2014 through 2017, while continuing his practice in tax and corporate law as well as strategic advice to organizations and boards. He was a Sessional Lecturer in Tax at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law from 2001-2006, and is a frequent lecturer to legal, accounting and tax professionals. Carman completed the Director Education Program in 2013 and holds the designation of ICD.D. He was named a Queen’s Counsel in 2010.
Carman served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Armed Forces, from 1975 – 2008, retiring with the rank of Captain (Navy). Over the course of that career, Carman served at sea and ashore with the Naval Reserves on a sometimes part-time, sometimes active duty, basis. Appointments included Commander Coastal Defense Sub-District Vancouver where he worked with the Port of Vancouver and Fraser Port, prior to being appointed the first Commanding Officer of HMCS Glace Bay from 1995-1997 (Halifax), and Commanding Officer of HMCS Nonsuch (Edmonton’s Naval Reserve Unit) from 1997-2000. He then served abroad with NATO as Canadian Representative to the Defense and Security Commission of the Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR), focusing on reserve policy issues, integration of operational training at NATO, operational language training, and professional development. In July 2005, Carman was appointed President of the CIOR where he served from 2006 to 2008, reporting to the Military Committee at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
A director of a number of private companies for many years, Carman has also served on a wide variety of community and non-profit entities and organizations. He is currently the Chair of the Edmonton Screen Industries Office and of the Alberta Advisory Board to Fire & Flower Inc., and is a director on the Board of the Edmonton Regional Airport Authority and several private companies. He is Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the Edmonton Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors, and previously chaired both the Alberta and Edmonton Chambers of Commerce as well as the Edmonton Community Foundation. He has both served and chaired Governance, Audit and Finance, and Investment Committees in the course of serving on those boards. Carman was co-Chair of Edmonton’s 2017 United Way Campaign, Vice Chair of the Metro Mayor’s Advisory Task Force, served on both the Mayor’s Task Force of Poverty and the Edmonton Homeless Commission, and was a Public Member of the Complaints Inquiry Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta. He has also been a Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation and a member of the Tax Competitiveness Council of the C.D. Howe Institute. He is a member of the Law Society of Alberta, and the Canadian Bar Association.
Carman coached hockey for many years, and has always been involved in his community through his current and former roles. Averie and Carman married while they were studying together at Law School, and Averie is also a lawyer practicing in Edmonton. They have three adult sons and three grandchildren.
Carman has received a number of honours, including the Canadian Forces Decoration (with 2 Bars), the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medals, as well as the Alberta Centennial Medal.
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