CFB Cornwallis
Encyclopedia
Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis (also CFB Cornwallis) is a former Canadian Forces Base
located in Deep Brook
, Nova Scotia
.
It is situated in the western part of Annapolis County
on the southern shore of the Annapolis Basin
. Today most of the base is a civilian business park known as Cornwallis Park.
during the early years of World War II
saw many port facilities on the east coast of Canada become quickly taxed by operational requirements, particularly during the Battle of the Atlantic.
In early 1942, the Department of National Defence
began examining the possibility of transferring naval recruit training to a new facility in southwestern Nova Scotia with convenient access to Halifax
.
DND preferred the South Shore
port town of Shelburne
with its large natural harbour and deepwater port under development since fall 1941 at and an adjacent seaplane patrol base opened in spring 1942 at RCAF Station Shelburne, however it is presumed that political pressure from J.L. Illsley
, the federal Minister of Finance
and MP
for Digby—Annapolis—Kings
force DND to reconsider. A location in Ilsley's riding on the shallower but protected Annapolis Basin
straddling the western border of Clementsport
and eastern border of Deep Brook
was quickly adopted.
While the location for the training base was being sorted out, the actual training establishment was founded at a cost of $9 million at Halifax's HMC Dockyard
on May 1, 1942 and was named HMCS Cornwallis in honour of Edward Cornwallis
, the founder of Halifax.
With the location of the new base decided, construction began in June of that year with a budget of $15 million. The base occupied a small peninsula jutting into the Annapolis Basin several miles east of the mouth of the Bear River where a gypsum loading facility was located in Deep Brook. The property was relatively level and bisected by the mainline of the Dominion Atlantic Railway
running from Yarmouth
to Windsor Junction
where it connected with CNR
to Halifax and the rest of Canada. New buildings were completed during the winter of 1942-1943 and the training establishment officially moved to the new base from HMC Dockyard on April 14, 1943, the date when HMCS Cornwallis was commissioned.
The RCN had a tremendous economic impact on the communities in western Annapolis County and eastern Digby County, with training personnel and recruits (when not in basic training) traveling around the local area. Approximately 2,500 personnel initially transferred with the training establishment from Halifax. The base would quickly grow to a peak strength of over 11,000 officers and enlisted personnel and recruits for the duration of the conflict, becoming the largest naval training facility for new recruits in the British Commonwealth
in terms of the number of personnel being trained.
The Dominion Atlantic Railway operated special troop trains to the base's station and also relied on scheduled passenger service, connecting with Canadian Pacific Railway
passenger trains from Saint John
, New Brunswick
(recruits would then take a CPR passenger ferry across the Bay of Fundy
to nearby Digby
) as well as Canadian National Railways passenger trains at Truro
and Halifax.
HMCS Cornwallis extended from the small level peninsula on the Annapolis Basin south up the hillside overlooking the basin, providing suitable room for exercise and marches. A large firing range property was also developed immediately north of the Annapolis River
at Granville Ferry
, opposite the town of Annapolis Royal
.
New recruits being trained as sailors for service in the RCN endured boot camp at HMCS Cornwallis, followed by specific naval training , including seamanship, boat handling, drill, self-defence, ropework, and weapons training. The duration of courses typically varied from 6–8 weeks, however the urgency of war sometimes shortened this period. Very few courses would receive sea training prior to active duty, although RCN warships frequented the Bay of Fundy and Annapolis Basin during patrols and sometimes called on the training base. The auxiliary warship was assigned to the base as a training vessel in 1944. Many newly commissioned RCN ships would have as few as a half-dozen experienced sailors onboard for the maiden voyage, the bulk being raw recruits from HMCS Cornwallis.
Recruit training slowed and was halted at HMCS Cornwallis during the spring and summer of 1945 and following the end of World War II, the base was transformed into an opposite role, as a discharge centre for sailors where it assisted in processing thousands of naval personnel transitioning to civilian life. Following this spate of activity in the summer and fall of 1945, the base fell dormant and was declared surplus to the RCN on February 28, 1946 and turned over to the War Assets Corporation for disposal.
The disposal of HMCS Cornwallis was a slow process, given the sheer amount of military properties across the nation that were undergoing a similar fate. During this period that the base lay dormant, the post office gave it the new name of Cornwallis, Nova Scotia for a postal outlet.
However the re-emergence of a military threat in the form of the Soviet Union
saw the RCN reconsider using the base once again. The creation of NATO in 1948 was an impetus for the issuance of a "stop sale" order in June of that year and in September the navy reclaimed possession. Following renovations later that fall, the base was recommissioned as the RCN's training base HMCS Cornwallis on May 1, 1949. It was envisioned that the new HMCS Cornwallis would be ramped up to have a maximum of 800 recruits at any one time.
Despite the Cold War, the RCN was operating as a peacetime navy, so its first recruits through HMCS Cornwallis endured a 5-month new entry course, however the entry of Canada into the Korean War
quickened the training pace with the navy being mobilized for action in the eastern Pacific Ocean
. By the spring of 1951, recruit levels at HMCS Cornwallis were at 1,600, double the estimated intake that the reactivated facility was designed for.
Recruits with the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service
(WRENS) started training at HMCS Cornwallis for the RCN on October 2, 1951. That month also saw the transfer to HMCS Cornwallis of the Communication Division of the Fleet School at HMC Dockyard
in Halifax. This unit trained seamen and wrens in the communication trade (morse code
and radio), while advanced courses were offered for officers and petty officers.
Officer cadets from the University Naval Training Divisions also trained in the summer at HMCS Cornwallis before Royal Roads Military College
took over all officer training for the RCN.
Following the Korean War and through the remainder of the 1950s-1960s, HMCS Cornwallis functioned as the new recruit training centre for sailors entering the Royal Canadian Navy, with very little additional training for other ranks.
and Canadian Army to form the Canadian Forces
saw HMCS Cornwallis change its name to Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis, or CFB Cornwallis.
At the time of unification, many duplicate bases and facilities were being closed, however it was determined that CFB Cornwallis would become home to the English-speaking division of the Canadian Forces Recruit School (CFRS) and would train recruits at the enlisted level destined for service with one of the three operational environments of the entire Canadian Forces (land, sea, or air). The French-speaking division of CFRS was located at CFB St-Jean.
CFB Cornwallis continued in this role through to its closure in 1994 when the base was identified as surplus to the requirements of the shrinking post-Cold War
Canadian Forces. The last recruit course 9426 graduated on August 18 that year and the base officially decommissioned in May 1995.
The closure of the base was not without controversy as a series of memorial stained glass
windows commemorating those lost in the Battle of the Atlantic were removed by the Canadian Forces from the base chapel and installed in a military chapel in CFB Halifax
's Shannon Park
housing development in Dartmouth
.
transferred the base property to the Government of Nova Scotia
which in turn transferred it to a local development authority named Cornwallis Park Development Authority; the base property being marketed for civilian use as Cornwallis Park. The residences and permanent married quarters (PMQs) on the hill overlooking the Annapolis Basin were sold or rented to civilians, with the community being marketed as ideal for seniors and retirees with a "million dollar view." Since 2000, the provincial government has officially recognized the community for civic addressing purposes as being Cornwallis Park.
Other parts of the base were transformed into an industrial park with some companies being established as call centres, and others processing recycled tires, or lumber and forest products.
A small military presence remains at the base in the historic buildings fronting the old parade square.
Canadian Forces base
A Canadian Forces Base or CFB is a military installation of the Canadian Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces Base, it must station one or more major units .Minor installations are named Canadian Forces Station or CFS A Canadian Forces Base or CFB (French Base des forces...
located in Deep Brook
Deep Brook, Nova Scotia
Deep Brook is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County .-References:*...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
It is situated in the western part of Annapolis County
Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
Annapolis County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia located in the western part of the province on the Bay of Fundy. The county seat is Annapolis Royal.-History:...
on the southern shore of the Annapolis Basin
Annapolis Basin
The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy, located on the southwestern shores of the bay, along the northwestern shore of Nova Scotia and at the western end of the Annapolis Valley....
. Today most of the base is a civilian business park known as Cornwallis Park.
HMCS Cornwallis
The rapid expansion of the Royal Canadian NavyRoyal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
during the early years of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
saw many port facilities on the east coast of Canada become quickly taxed by operational requirements, particularly during the Battle of the Atlantic.
In early 1942, the Department of National Defence
Department of National Defence (Canada)
The Department of National Defence , frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for all matters concerning the defence of Canada...
began examining the possibility of transferring naval recruit training to a new facility in southwestern Nova Scotia with convenient access to Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
.
DND preferred the South Shore
South Shore (Nova Scotia)
The South Shore is a region of Nova Scotia, Canada. Although it has no formal identity and is variously defined by geographic, county and other political boundaries, it is generally understood as the Atlantic coast running southwest from Halifax Harbour to the end of Shelburne County...
port town of Shelburne
Shelburne, Nova Scotia
Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Shelburne County.-History:-Settlers:...
with its large natural harbour and deepwater port under development since fall 1941 at and an adjacent seaplane patrol base opened in spring 1942 at RCAF Station Shelburne, however it is presumed that political pressure from J.L. Illsley
James Lorimer Ilsley
James Lorimer Ilsley, PC, KC was a Canadian politician and jurist.He was born in Somerset, Nova Scotia, the son of Randel Ilsley and Catherine Caldwell. Ilsley was educated at Acadia University and Dalhousie University and was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in 1916. In 1919, he married Evelyn Smith...
, the federal Minister of Finance
Minister of Finance (Canada)
The Minister of Finance is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget...
and MP
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
for Digby—Annapolis—Kings
Digby—Annapolis—Kings
Digby—Annapolis—Kings was a federal electoral district in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and from 1953 to 1968....
force DND to reconsider. A location in Ilsley's riding on the shallower but protected Annapolis Basin
Annapolis Basin
The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy, located on the southwestern shores of the bay, along the northwestern shore of Nova Scotia and at the western end of the Annapolis Valley....
straddling the western border of Clementsport
Clementsport, Nova Scotia
Clementsport is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County.Clementsport is situated on the Annapolis Basin, and along the Moose River. The small town has pizzeria - Jody's Gourmet Pizza, which is part of the Moose River Variety Store...
and eastern border of Deep Brook
Deep Brook, Nova Scotia
Deep Brook is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County .-References:*...
was quickly adopted.
While the location for the training base was being sorted out, the actual training establishment was founded at a cost of $9 million at Halifax's HMC Dockyard
CFB Halifax
Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....
on May 1, 1942 and was named HMCS Cornwallis in honour of Edward Cornwallis
Edward Cornwallis
Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis was a British military officer who founded Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2500 settlers and later served as the Governor of Gibraltar.-Early life:...
, the founder of Halifax.
Dominion Atlantic Railway
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley....
running from Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
to Windsor Junction
Windsor Junction, Nova Scotia
Windsor Junction is a Canadian suburban community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. It is located 15.6 km north west of the HRM urban core, 3 km north of the Bedford Basin near the communities of Waverley, Fall River and Lower Sackville.-Railway history:The name of the...
where it connected with CNR
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
to Halifax and the rest of Canada. New buildings were completed during the winter of 1942-1943 and the training establishment officially moved to the new base from HMC Dockyard on April 14, 1943, the date when HMCS Cornwallis was commissioned.
The RCN had a tremendous economic impact on the communities in western Annapolis County and eastern Digby County, with training personnel and recruits (when not in basic training) traveling around the local area. Approximately 2,500 personnel initially transferred with the training establishment from Halifax. The base would quickly grow to a peak strength of over 11,000 officers and enlisted personnel and recruits for the duration of the conflict, becoming the largest naval training facility for new recruits in the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
in terms of the number of personnel being trained.
The Dominion Atlantic Railway operated special troop trains to the base's station and also relied on scheduled passenger service, connecting with Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
passenger trains from Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
(recruits would then take a CPR passenger ferry across the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
to nearby Digby
Digby, Nova Scotia
Digby is a Canadian town in western Nova Scotia. It is the shiretown and largest population centre in Digby County.The town is situated on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin near the entrance to the Digby Gut which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy.Named after Admiral Robert Digby, RN,...
) as well as Canadian National Railways passenger trains at Truro
Truro, Nova Scotia
-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...
and Halifax.
HMCS Cornwallis extended from the small level peninsula on the Annapolis Basin south up the hillside overlooking the basin, providing suitable room for exercise and marches. A large firing range property was also developed immediately north of the Annapolis River
Annapolis River
The Annapolis River is a Canadian river located in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.-Geography:Measuring 120 kilometres in length, the river flows southwest through the western part of the valley from its source in Caribou Bog near the villages of Aylesford and Berwick in western Kings County, to...
at Granville Ferry
Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia
Granville Ferry is a village in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County .-References:*...
, opposite the town of Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
.
New recruits being trained as sailors for service in the RCN endured boot camp at HMCS Cornwallis, followed by specific naval training , including seamanship, boat handling, drill, self-defence, ropework, and weapons training. The duration of courses typically varied from 6–8 weeks, however the urgency of war sometimes shortened this period. Very few courses would receive sea training prior to active duty, although RCN warships frequented the Bay of Fundy and Annapolis Basin during patrols and sometimes called on the training base. The auxiliary warship was assigned to the base as a training vessel in 1944. Many newly commissioned RCN ships would have as few as a half-dozen experienced sailors onboard for the maiden voyage, the bulk being raw recruits from HMCS Cornwallis.
Recruit training slowed and was halted at HMCS Cornwallis during the spring and summer of 1945 and following the end of World War II, the base was transformed into an opposite role, as a discharge centre for sailors where it assisted in processing thousands of naval personnel transitioning to civilian life. Following this spate of activity in the summer and fall of 1945, the base fell dormant and was declared surplus to the RCN on February 28, 1946 and turned over to the War Assets Corporation for disposal.
The disposal of HMCS Cornwallis was a slow process, given the sheer amount of military properties across the nation that were undergoing a similar fate. During this period that the base lay dormant, the post office gave it the new name of Cornwallis, Nova Scotia for a postal outlet.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
saw the RCN reconsider using the base once again. The creation of NATO in 1948 was an impetus for the issuance of a "stop sale" order in June of that year and in September the navy reclaimed possession. Following renovations later that fall, the base was recommissioned as the RCN's training base HMCS Cornwallis on May 1, 1949. It was envisioned that the new HMCS Cornwallis would be ramped up to have a maximum of 800 recruits at any one time.
Despite the Cold War, the RCN was operating as a peacetime navy, so its first recruits through HMCS Cornwallis endured a 5-month new entry course, however the entry of Canada into the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
quickened the training pace with the navy being mobilized for action in the eastern Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. By the spring of 1951, recruit levels at HMCS Cornwallis were at 1,600, double the estimated intake that the reactivated facility was designed for.
Recruits with the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service
Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service
The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service was an element of the Royal Canadian Navy that was active during the Second World War and post-war as part of the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve until unification in 1968....
(WRENS) started training at HMCS Cornwallis for the RCN on October 2, 1951. That month also saw the transfer to HMCS Cornwallis of the Communication Division of the Fleet School at HMC Dockyard
CFB Halifax
Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....
in Halifax. This unit trained seamen and wrens in the communication trade (morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
and radio), while advanced courses were offered for officers and petty officers.
Officer cadets from the University Naval Training Divisions also trained in the summer at HMCS Cornwallis before Royal Roads Military College
Royal Roads Military College
Royal Roads Military College was a Canadian military college located in Hatley Park, Colwood, British Columbia near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The facility is currently being used as the campus for Royal Roads University, a public university that offers applied and professional academic...
took over all officer training for the RCN.
Following the Korean War and through the remainder of the 1950s-1960s, HMCS Cornwallis functioned as the new recruit training centre for sailors entering the Royal Canadian Navy, with very little additional training for other ranks.
CFB Cornwallis
The February 1, 1968 unification of the RCN with the Royal Canadian Air ForceRoyal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
and Canadian Army to form the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
saw HMCS Cornwallis change its name to Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis, or CFB Cornwallis.
At the time of unification, many duplicate bases and facilities were being closed, however it was determined that CFB Cornwallis would become home to the English-speaking division of the Canadian Forces Recruit School (CFRS) and would train recruits at the enlisted level destined for service with one of the three operational environments of the entire Canadian Forces (land, sea, or air). The French-speaking division of CFRS was located at CFB St-Jean.
CFB Cornwallis continued in this role through to its closure in 1994 when the base was identified as surplus to the requirements of the shrinking post-Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
Canadian Forces. The last recruit course 9426 graduated on August 18 that year and the base officially decommissioned in May 1995.
The closure of the base was not without controversy as a series of memorial stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows commemorating those lost in the Battle of the Atlantic were removed by the Canadian Forces from the base chapel and installed in a military chapel in CFB Halifax
CFB Halifax
Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....
's Shannon Park
Shannon Park, Nova Scotia
Shannon Park is a former military community on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is immediately south of the A. Murray MacKay Bridge in the city of Dartmouth...
housing development in Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
.
Cornwallis Park
Following decommissioning, the Government of CanadaGovernment of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
transferred the base property to the Government of Nova Scotia
Government of Nova Scotia
The Government of Nova Scotia refers to the provincial government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
which in turn transferred it to a local development authority named Cornwallis Park Development Authority; the base property being marketed for civilian use as Cornwallis Park. The residences and permanent married quarters (PMQs) on the hill overlooking the Annapolis Basin were sold or rented to civilians, with the community being marketed as ideal for seniors and retirees with a "million dollar view." Since 2000, the provincial government has officially recognized the community for civic addressing purposes as being Cornwallis Park.
Other parts of the base were transformed into an industrial park with some companies being established as call centres, and others processing recycled tires, or lumber and forest products.
A small military presence remains at the base in the historic buildings fronting the old parade square.
- The Pearson Peacekeeping CentrePearson Peacekeeping CentreEstablished in 1994 by the Government of Canada, the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre is an independent, not-for-profit organization with its office based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on the campus of Carleton University...
was established initially to train Canadian and foreign soldiers in the art of peacekeeping and conflict resolution for postings with United Nations PeacekeepingUnited Nations peacekeepingPeacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations as "a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the Organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace"...
missions. In late 2011, the Centre will close its Corwnallis Park office, ending a 17-year presence.
- The CSTC HMCS AcadiaCSTC HMCS AcadiaCadet Summer Training Centre HMCS Acadia is a Royal Canadian Sea Cadets summer training centre in Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia. In November 1945, HMCS Acadia was decommissioned from Royal Canadian Navy service and the vessel returned to civilian operations with the Canadian Hydrographic Service...
sea cadet training centre operates in some of the barracks at Cornwallis Park during the summer months, training thousands of Royal Canadian Sea Cadets from across Atlantic CanadaAtlantic CanadaAtlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
.