La Baie, Quebec - 25 June 2015
The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have the equipment and resources they need to do the jobs we ask of them. Our Government is also committed to supporting public infrastructure across the country, which creates jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity.
To this end, on June 25, 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced support to improve critical infrastructure for Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Bagotville, located in Quebec’s Saguenay region. Through this investment, CFB Bagotville will receive $27.97 million for the following:
- Airfield repairs – mill and overlay existing crosswind runway: $11.66 million
- Airfield repairs – airfield drainage studies and repairs: $1.54 million
- Military housing – new construction: $8 million
- Military housing – renovations: $4 million
- Military quarters – interior renovations and upgrades: $2 million
- Signage and siding: $770,000
Also known as 3 Wing, CFB Bagotville provides general purpose, multi-role, combat capable forces in support of domestic and international roles of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Its goal, under the operational command of 1 Canadian Air Division, is to protect Canada and Canadians, defend North America, and promote peace and international security. Equipped with CF-18 Hornets, it is one of two fighter aircraft bases in Canada.
The renewal of CFB Bagotville will help ensure that the base is a modern, safe and secure Canadian Armed Forces facility that will enable base personnel to carry out their missions in a timely and effective manner for years to come. Such work will improve the condition of ageing facilities and also contribute to increasing efficiency and reducing maintenance costs.
The Bagotville Station was built in July 1942 to provide a training base for pilots and protect the Alcan and hydro-electric facilities in the area during the Second World War, hence its motto “Defend the Saguenay.”
Closed at the end of the war, the station was re-opened in 1951 as a training base for the squadrons serving with the Canadian Division in Europe and to support the air defence operations of the newly formed Canadian and American forces that would become North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in 1958.
Following implementation of the Wing concept in the Air Force, 3 Wing, which in succession served Canada at Zweibrücken, Germany, from 1952 to 1968 and at Lahr, Germany, from 1988 to 1992, was reconstituted at Bagotville in April 1993.
The support being announced today for CFB Bagotville is part of the $5.8 billion federal infrastructure initiative announced by Prime Minister Harper in November 2014 which included $452 million to repair and upgrade CAF facilities across the country. The Government estimates investments in federal infrastructure will generate and sustain approximately 10,000 jobs in the next two years.
Our Government’s support for federal infrastructure is part of the largest and longest infrastructure plan in Canadian history – more than $80 billion over ten years – supporting federal, provincial, territorial, and community infrastructure projects across the country; a plan generating jobs, opportunities, economic growth and prosperity for years to come.
Today’s announcement is one of many measures that the Government has taken to ensure that the CAF have the tools and resources they need to defend Canadian interests and values. Other related Government of Canada initiatives in Quebec include projects to repair and upgrade over a dozen armouries across the province, the renovation of military quarters at the Montréal Garrison, and critical repairs to the historic Citadelle in Québec City.