British departure means uncertain future for Alberta's massive Suffield military base

A sprawling military training base more than twice the size of New York City in southeastern Alberta appears to be a shadow of its former self while its future use remains up in the air. The entrance sign to CFB Suffield, Alta., Tuesday, July 26, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A sprawling military training base more than twice the size of New York City in southeastern Alberta appears to be a shadow of its former self while its future use remains up in the air.

Canadian Forces Base Suffield, 260 kilometres east of Calgary, is the largest training area in Canada at nearly 2,700 square kilometres.

The British Army sent thousands of troops to the base for armour training and exercises each year beginning the early 1970s.

Prince Harry trained there in 2007 and was spotted socializing at bars in Calgary before being deployed to Afghanistan.

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

In 2023, the U.K. Ministry of Defence announced it would substantially reduce its operational activities at Suffield and cease all training activities there for a minimum of two years, and likely well beyond that date.

All tanks, artillery, infantry fighting armoured personnel carriers and light armoured engineering vehicles were returned home. 

"U.K. Armed Forces are not currently conducting large-scale training at British Army Training Unit Suffield," the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

"The U.K. is actively engaging in productive discussions with the Canadian government to agree future plans at the base."

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair would only say discussions are continuing.

"We're committed to the facility and we're working closely with the British on it," he said.

"I think there are many important uses for CFB Suffield. We're working that through with them right now."

The base is still being used by Canadian Forces reserve units for training, with some of those soldiers joining the NATO mission in Latvia.

Each year, the Defence Research Development Canada branch at the base hosts allied biological and chemical agent training. Thirteen NATO allies attended the event in July.

The base has also begun hosting U.S. Armed Forces helicopter training.

But the bustle is gone. CFB Suffield appeared almost empty during a weekend training exercise in late October and again on a snowy day in December.

The Village of Ralston, which has provided military housing for the base, still has a school, a church and an arena.

A sign warns motorists that "Walking, Running and Marching troops have the right of way."

There was little traffic.

"It's certainly much more quiet than it used to be. The British would always come in and would have all the ranges booked a year in advance," said Lt.-Col. Tom Bradley, commanding officer of the South Alberta Light Horse regiment.

"It used to be hard for us to get to Suffield. Now if you want to book part of the training area, you can."

Bradley, who was once the commander of CFB Edmonton and served two tours in Afghanistan, said the size of the base makes it ideal.

"Coming from a tank regiment, we like it that you don't have to worry because it's big enough that you can shoot live fire and you don't have to worry about safety impact because you've got more than enough range," he said.

"Chemical training? It's the only place in the western world where you can do that kind of training and do it safely."

In a statement, the Canadian Forces said it's still working with the U.K. "to identify how they will use CFB Suffield in the future after the changes to its footprint.”

Canada not pulling its weight on military spending

Rob Huebert, interim director of the Centre for Military Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, said Suffield is underused and is an example of Canada not pulling its weight on military spending within NATO.

Huebert said the re-election of Donald Trump as U.S. president will result in Canada spending more.

"I think you will inevitably see the restanding-up of the base. I'd like to believe that we've hit rock bottom and at this point in time the defence increases will allow us again to give it a meaningful component," Huebert said.

"As our allies, particularly our European allies, start seeing a war with Russia with a certain degree of inevitability, you're going to see a renewed request in terms of being able to train on the type of territories that probably some of the fighting is going to take place on."

The lone pizza restaurant in the hamlet of Suffield, which had been serving the area for nearly four decades, closed earlier this year.

"They've brought a lot of money to the economy in this area. Just coming in for their days off and stuff would be huge around the city. Clothing, food and booze really felt it," said Dan Hamilton, reeve of Cypress County.

The county and base share a fire department and water agreements, and Suffield pays taxes.

Hamilton hopes the British return.

"It would be our hope that they get some more coming."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2024.

— With files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa