An uncertain future for the country’s largest military base

Uncertainty hangs over the future use of Canadian Forces Base Suffield in southeastern Alberta, particularly because the British army, which sends thousands of soldiers there each year for training, starts to go away.

Located 260 kilometers east of Calgary, on an area of ​​nearly 2,700 square kilometers, the military base of Suffield is Canada’s largest training center. It is more than twice the size of New York City.

Since the early 1970s, the British army has sent thousands of soldiers there each year to train and participate in military exercises.

Prince Harry trained there in 2007 before being sent to Afghanistan.

Things changed in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted exercises.

In 2023, the UK Ministry of Defense announced that it would significantly reduce its operational activities to Suffield and that he would cease all training activities for at least two years, and probably well beyond that date.

All tanks, armored personnel carriers for infantry fighting, light armored engineering vehicles as well as all artillery pieces have been repatriated.

The British Armed Forces do not currently conduct large-scale training at the British Army Training Unit in Suffieldsaid the British Ministry of Defense in a statement.

The UK is actively engaged in productive discussions with the Canadian Government to agree future plans for the base.

The Canadian Minister of Defense, Bill Blairsimply said that discussions were continuing.

We are committed to this facility and we are working closely with the British on this. I think the Suffield military base can be used for many purposes. We are thinking about it with them.

The base is still used by Canadian Forces reserve units for training, with some of these soldiers joining the mission of theI’LL TAKE in Latvia.

Each year, training on biological and chemical agents is given there for allies. Thirteen allies of theI’LL TAKEparticipated in this event in July.

The base also began hosting training for U.S. armed forces helicopters.

According to Lt. Col. Tom Bradleywho previously served as base commander at Edmonton and served twice in Afghanistan, the size of the Suffield base makes it ideal: It’s big enough that you can shoot live ammunition and don’t have to worry about the safety impact because the range is more than enough.

Chemical training? It’s the only place in the Western world where you can do this kind of training safely.

In a statement, the Canadian Forces said they were still working with the United Kingdom to determine how they will use the Suffield base in the future.

With information from The Canadian Press