Governor General's Foot Guards

The Governor General’s Foot Guards (GGFG) is the senior reserve infantry regiment in Canada. Located in Ottawa at the Cartier Square Drill Hall, the Regiment is a primary reserve infantry unit and our members are part-time soldiers who serve Canada.

The GGFG are infantry reserve soldiers who train part-time and full-time for domestic operations and international missions. This involves training for domestic operations where the unit deployed members to help the citizens of Canada during a natural disaster or public emergency such as it did during the 1998 Ice Storm, flooding in 2017 and 2019, and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It also involves training for international operations and support to the Regular Force on operations in countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Latvia, and Ukraine where troops from our regiment have deployed in recent years.

Members of the GGFG train on a part time basis between September and June, usually Tuesday evenings and one weekend a month. Between May and August, members of the regiment can be employed full time in a variety of roles such as students or instructors on training courses, taking part in tasks such as The Ceremonial Guard, and attending field exercises.

When you first join the regiment you will be expected to complete the basic military qualification course as well as your trade qualification courses. These courses may be completed over weekends, as well as full time during the summer. Once qualified you will be able to attend specialty training courses and leadership training courses.

The Regiment is composed of the following sub-units:

• No. 1 Company is the rifle company which conducts collective field training exercises to train soldiers to work together as a team across a range of tactical scenarios. Most of the trained soldiers in the regiment are part of the rifle company.
• No. 2 Company is the training company which is responsible to run individual training courses so members can become qualified or complete specialized courses. It is composed of instructors and students taking part in individual training courses. New members of the regiment will be members of the training company until they are fully trained.
• No. 3 Company is the Support Company which is responsible to provide logistical support to the training being conducted by No. 1 and 2 Companies.
• The Regimental band is brass and reed band composed of skilled musicians who represent the regiment at performances around the city and beyond.
• Public Duties Company is responsible for the planning and conduct of The Ceremonial Guard during the summer months as well as supporting the Governor General and Rideau Hall with ceremonial tasks throughout the year.
• Regimental Headquarter is responsible for the overall command, control, and administration of all members of the regiment.

The regiment also runs supplementary training programs such as the marksmanship program to improve shooting skills, and the leadership development training program to prepare soldiers to attend leadership courses. Additionally the regiment runs sports and fitness programs.

Members of the regiment can expect to become proficient with the weapons and equipment used by Canadian infantry, as well as the technical and tactical skillsets required for infantry soldiers to be effective across a range of operations. As Guards you will be expected to uphold the high standard of discipline in courage passed down to us by our forbearers.

When you join our unit, you will receive competitive pay for your part time or full time work as well as be eligible for on the job training that could benefit you in civilian life. Also, there are medical, dental and educational benefits available to Army Reservists.

Here are all the details:

• Serve part time in the CAF
• Competitive pay
• On the job training
• Medical and dental benefits
• Paid education

• Commanding Officer: Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Quesnel, CD, AdeC

• Regimental Sergeant Major: Chief Warrant Officer Gregory Witol, CD

Governor General's Foot Guards
Cartier Square Drill Hall
2 Queen Elizabeth Drive
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K2

Phone: 613-990-6605
Email: GGFG_OR@forces.gc.ca

The Governor General’s Foot Guards was formed on June 7th, 1872 in Ottawa. The Regiment has been headquartered at the Cartier Square Drill Hall since 1879.

Members of the Regiment took part in the Nile Expedition of 1884 and the following year provided a company of sharpshooters to the Battleford column during the North West Rebellion, where the Regiment suffered its first two casualties at the battle of Cut Knife Hill. During the Boer war the regiment contributed volunteers for the various Canadian contingents, mainly the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry.

The GGFG perpetuates two battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who took part in the First World War. The 2^nd (Eastern Ontario) battalion “The Iron Second”, which was a part of the 1^st Canadian Division and saw continuous service on the Western front from 1915 to end of war in 1918. The 2nd Battalion also fought at the battles of Ypres, St. Julien, Festubert, Pozières, Vimy (1917), Arleux, Hill 70, Passchendaele, Amiens, and Canal du Nord, to name only a few. By the end of the war, 242 officers and 5,084 other ranks had fought with the battalion. Of those, 52 officers and 1,227 other ranks were killed. The 77^th (Ottawa) battalion provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps until 22 September 1916, when its personnel were absorbed by the 47th Battalion (British Columbia), CEF and the 73rd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada) and the battalion was disbanded. The honours and traditions of these battalions are perpetuated by the GGFG.

During the Second World War the GGFG was mobilized in May 1940. In 1942 the regiment was re-rolled to become an armoured unit to address the need for more armoured units in the Canadian Army, assuming the name “21st Canadian Armoured Regiment (G.G.F.G.)”. It embarked for Great Britain on 23 September 1942. On 24 July 1944, it landed in France as part of the 4th Armoured Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division and it continued to fight in northwest Europe until the end of the war taking part in the battle of Normandy, the battle of the Scheldt, and the Rhineland. Over the course of the war the Regiment’s casualties were 101 dead and 284 wounded. Forceful III, a Sherman tank that served with the regiment is currently on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa and is dedicated to the memory of the members of the GGFG killed during the Second World War.

In the intervening years, members have participated in numerous United Nations and NATO operations, including service in the Cyprus, Somalia, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Haiti, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone. During the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, the GGFG deployed numerous members, taking part Task Force 3-06, Task Force 3-08, and Task Force 1-10 in Kandahar, as well as the Op ATTENTION training mission in Kabul.

Presently the GGFG provides individual augmentation to regular force when they deploy on operations. Most recently the regiment has deployed members on Op IMPACT in Iraq and Jordan, Op CALUMET in Egypt, Op SOPRANO in Sudan, Op REASSURANCE in Poland and Latvia, and Op UNIFIER in the Ukraine.

The Regiment maintains a robust domestic response capability to support Canadians at home in the event of natural disaster or emergency. The regiment has deployed soldiers to the 1998 Ice Storm, floods 2017 and 2019, and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

For service on active duty, members of the Regiment have been awarded over 500 decorations, including 3 Victoria Crosses. The regiment has 34 Battle Honours.

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