CFB Valcartier

Canadian Forces Base Valcartier is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, approximately 25 km (16 mi) north of Quebec City. It is home to 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group.

Origins

CFB Valcartier was originally erected as a military training camp in August 1914 as part of the mobilization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force at the onset of World War I. A 10-foot-6-inch (3.20 m)-high bronze figure of a World War I soldier (1995) by André Gauthier (sculptor) at the entrance to CFB Valcartier commemorates the training of Canadian Army volunteers for the European battlefields in World War I.

The site was also used as an internment camp for "enemy aliens", mainly eastern Europeans. The name Valcartier comes from the town of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, of which a large section was expropriated in order to create the military training camp. Due to its proximity to the Port of Quebec, Valcartier became the largest military camp on Canadian soil, including some 32,000 men and 8,000 horses.