Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt is the second largest military base in Canada and home to one of the country’s three naval formations. Located just west of Victoria, B.C., CFB Esquimalt was first established as a military installation by the Royal Navy in 1855 and has been serving the Royal Canadian Navy since its inception in 1910.
The base is responsible for providing support services to all ships as well as over 6000 military and civilian personnel of both Maritime Forces Pacific, which is responsible for maintaining multi-purpose, combat-capable maritime forces, and Joint Task Force Pacific, which is focused on the defence of Canada and all civil support operations within the Pacific Region. CFB Esquimalt houses organizations such as the headquarters of the Naval Personnel and Training Group, the Commander of the Canadian Submarine Force, Naval Fleet School (Pacific), and Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton. The base is essentially a community within a community, with its services including police, fire, postal, legal, health, social work and chaplains to name a few.
The base’s security forces, along with the Queen’s Harbour Master, are responsible for the safety and security of Esquimalt Harbour. The Base Commander is responsible for a distributed property from Masset to Matsqui, spanning nearly 5,000 hectares, spread over 23 sites and encompassing almost 1,500 buildings. CFB Esquimalt and Maritime Forces Pacific contribute over half a billion dollars annually to the local economy, and the entire Defence Team is proud of its contributions to the local community through fundraising and volunteering.
