Beginning with establishment of Fort Calgary (a North-West Mounted Police fort) in 1875, the city of Calgary, Alberta, has had some degree of permanent military presence throughout its history.
Between the time Fort Calgary was established in 1875 and the incorporation of the town of Calgary in 1884, the only formal military presence was the NWMP garrison of Fort Calgary. The Northwest Rebellion prompted the creation of a Citizen's Home Guard consisting of volunteers dressed in cowboy garb who paraded as a show of force for the benefit of local indigenous tribes. No conflicts arose between the European town-dwellers and the First Nations and the guard quietly disbanded.
Calgary's incorporation as a city in 1894 encouraged the development of a more formal military presence. A squadron of the Canadian Mounted Rifles was stationed in Calgary and later a cavalry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia was authorized on 3 July 1905, designated the 15th Light Horse. [1] The regiment used the upper loft of a feed store as a headquarters.
The quartermaster of the 15th Light Horse, who also served on city council, Captain William Charles Gordon Armstrong, made a number of applications to create an infantry regiment. [2] In 1910 his applications were finally accepted and the 103rd Regiment "Calgary Rifles" was formally authorized on 1 April 1910. [3]
Units of the artillery, engineers and supporting corps also had units in Calgary. Strathcona's Horse, a Permanent Force cavalry unit, had one squadron quartered in the city for many years.
In 1914, several battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force were raised in Calgary, notably the 10th and 50th. Training took place at nearby Sarcee Camp, which grew enormously during the First World War. The camp later became known as Sarcee Training Area. Nearby Battalion Park overlooks this area.
In 1920–21, the Canadian military was reorganized, and the 103rd Regiment was split into two separate regiments, and by 1939 these were known as The Calgary Highlanders and the Calgary Regiment (Tank). Other supporting units remained in the city as well. By 1939, these included the 15th Alberta Light Horse; 19th Field Brigade, Royal Canadian Artillery (including component subunits 23rd (Howitzer) Battery, 91st Battery, and 95th Battery); 13th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers; No. 13 District Signals; and No. 9 Construction Section.
Beginning on 1 September 1939, many Calgary units mobilized for the Canadian Active Service Force. The Calgary Highlanders mobilized on 1 September 1939 and joined the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, moving to Shilo, Manitoba, in the summer of 1940 on the way to overseas employment. A 2nd Battalion was raised and served as a part-time Militia unit throughout the war. The Highlanders returned to Calgary on 24 November 1945 to a warm welcome, along with the 23rd Anti-Tank Battery (a component of the 2nd Anti-Tank Regiment) and the 91st Field Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery. The Calgary Regiment (Tank) mobilized in 1941 and eventually served in 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade (later 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade), most famously serving at Dieppe but later being reconstituted and fighting in Sicily, Italy, and Northwest Europe. A reserve unit remained in Calgary. As well, a contingent of the Alberta University Canadian Officers Training Corps was located in the city.
By the end of the Second World War, a greatly enlarged Regular Force saw a sizable military garrison in Calgary, and regular battalions of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, as well as Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), were quartered in the city. In 1995, the Regular Force garrison – including Strathcona's, 1 PPCLI, 1 Service Battalion, 1 Military Police Platoon, and the headquarters of Land Force Western Area as well as 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group – all moved to Edmonton, leaving a skeleton staff of regular personnel in Calgary to administer the local Militia units.
Permanent military facilities were completed in 1917 with the construction of Mewata Armouries, which then housed reserve units and a squadron of regular cavalry. Currie Barracks became an important training base during the Second World War, and many British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities were in and around the city, including what is today the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Currie Barracks, and nearby Harvey Barracks, were both developed after the war to form Canadian Forces Base Calgary (CFB Calgary). A second armoury was built in a Northeast Calgary industrial park in the 1980s. Harvey Barracks (and the adjacent Sarcee Training Area) were returned to the Tsuu Tʼina Nation after the lease expired, and CFB Calgary was closed. Only the headquarters for a reserve brigade and a small area support unit remain.
Despite the closing of CFB Calgary (including both the Currie Barracks and Harvey Barracks), the city is still home to a significant military presence of Naval and Army Reserve units including:
Army Reserve units with their training locations include:
Army, Air Force and Navy Regular Force elements are stationed at:
Additionally, there are several corps of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, Navy League of Canada and several squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets who train at various facilities.
These cadet corps and squadrons consist of:
The Calgary Highlanders is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armouries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The regiment is a part-time reserve unit, under the command of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, itself part of 3rd Canadian Division, one of four region-based Canadian Army divisions. The regiment is one of only two regiments in the Canadian Forces to wear an honorary distinction on their uniform, commemorating the counterattack at Kitcheners' Wood. On 9 January 2015, the regiment was recognized with the Canadian Forces' Unit Commendation for outstanding contributions to the war in Afghanistan.
The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infantry Division in 1941 and then converted to armour and redesignated as the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. Beginning in 1916 the division adopted a distinctive green-coloured formation patch as its insignia. In 2013 it was announced that Land Force Central Area would be redesignated 4th Canadian Division. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto.
The 5th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of most army units in the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador; as well as some units in Kingston, Ontario. The division is recognized by the distinctive maroon patch worn on the sleeve of its soldiers.
The South Alberta Light Horse (SALH) is a Canadian Army armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Army Reserve. It traces its complicated lineage to the Rocky Mountain Rangers, and claims its direct ancestry to the 15th Light Horse, along with various other Alberta based cavalry units. The "Light Horse" designation comes from its light cavalry and mounted infantry origins.
The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC), colloquially known as The King's Own, is a Royal Canadian Armoured Corps cavalry regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces. Headquartered at Mewata Armoury in Calgary, Alberta, the King's Own is a part-time Primary Reserve unit of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, 3rd Canadian Division. Its regimental museum is located at the Military Museums in southwest Calgary.
The Prince Edward Island Regiment is a Primary Reserve armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Forces, 5th Canadian Division, 36 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment is based in Charlottetown and Summerside, Prince Edward Island.
Canadian Forces Base Calgary, also CFB Calgary, was a Canadian Forces Base located in Calgary, Alberta.
HMCS Tecumseh is a Canadian Forces Naval Reserve division (NRD) located in Calgary, Alberta. Dubbed a stone frigate, HMCS Tecumseh is a land-based naval training establishment crewed by part-time sailors and also serves as a local recruitment centre for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). It is one of 24 naval reserve divisions located in major cities across Canada.
Mewata Armoury is a Canadian Forces reserve armoury in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Mewata ( is derived from the Cree word ᒥᔭᐋᐧᑕᒼ, meaning "Oh, be joyful".
Battalion Park is a geoglyph site in southwest Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is on Signal Hill, overlooking the Tsuu T'ina Nation, as well as lands formerly known as Camp Sarcee and later Sarcee Training Area, a military reserve used by the Canadian Forces from before the First World War up until the 1990s. The park extends over an area of 93 hectares, north of the Elbow River. Its heritage value is associated with its dedication to the heroic efforts of Albertan soldiers during the First World War.
41 Combat Engineer Regiment is an Army Reserve (militia) unit of the Canadian Military Engineers/Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) in Alberta, Canada. The unit consists of:
The M113½ Command and Reconnaissance Vehicle is a United States-built tracked reconnaissance armoured fighting vehicle, which was originally employed by the armed forces of the Netherlands and Canada and later Bahrain and Chile. Former Dutch vehicles were exported in the 1990s to Bahrain and Chile after being retired from service.
41 Canadian Brigade Group is a Canadian Army formation of the 3rd Canadian Division. The formation is composed of Army Reserve units within the province of Alberta and the Northwest Territories. The headquarters of the brigade is in Calgary.
All units of the Canadian Armed Forces have an order of precedence that determines seniority; it often decides such matters as which unit forms up to the right of other units on a ceremonial parade, or the order in which marches or calls are played at a mess dinner.
Area Support Unit Chilliwack is a Canadian Forces facility located in Chilliwack, British Columbia.
The 103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles) was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Non-Permanent Active Militia, authorized at Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by General Order on 1 April 1910.
Canadian military bands are a group of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that performs musical duties for military functions. Military bands form a part of the Music Branch of the CAF, composed of six full-time professional Regular Force bands, 15 Regular Force voluntary bands, and 53 part-time reserve force bands. Bands of the Music Branch are often badged with the unit or Canadian Forces base insignia that they support.
41 Signal Regiment is a reserve communications unit of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. It is part of 41 Canadian Brigade Group in Alberta. The unit consists of:
The following is a hierarchical outline for the Canadian Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations.