Admiral Art McDonald, the first naval commander to lead the Canadian military in decades, will inherit some challenges in his new role, not the least of which is the ongoing effort to build a fleet of new warships, which has been fraught with delays and cost overruns. McDonald took the reins from Gen. Jonathan Vance on Jan. 14 as the next chief of the defence staff in a ceremony that was kept low-key due to the pandemic. Retired lieutenant-general Guy Thibault became familiar with McDonald while Thibault was vice chief of the defence staff from 2013 to 2016. “[He’s] a very smart man, very thoughtful,” Thibault said in an interview. “I think he’s got a very nice personality, very congenial, a leader I think folks love to work with, a team player. I think those are all great skills to have.” Rob Huebert, professor of political science at the University …