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Fort Dufferin Dorm
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Existing accommodations at the RCMP Academy no longer meet the functional requirements of the Cadet Training Program. Notwithstanding strategic improvements, innovative modifications and extremely rigorous maintenance plans in place, the current dormitories are physically, functionally and technologically obsolete.
Since 2006, ten modular temporary dorm units have been added on site to increase the capacity of “Depot”. Each unit can house a 32-member troop for a total of 320 beds.
The permanent and sustainable solution for cadet accommodation is the construction of three new dormitories. Each will house six or seven troops for a total of 640 beds. The first, the Fort Dufferin Dorm, will be able to house up to seven troops of 32 cadets. In addition to the cadet accommodation facilities, the dormitory will be home to the Academy Reception Centre and serve as the main reception area for all visitors to “Depot”.
Designed by Friesen Tokar Architects, the Fort Dufferin Dorm is contemporary yet respectful of the existing heritage buildings. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2010 with completion by August 2011. The project is part of new funding announced by the federal Government in 2006 for the rejuvenation and modernization of the RCMP Academy, “Depot” Division.
About Fort Dufferin
The jumping-off point for the March West was the small settlement of Dufferin, Manitoba; just inside Canadian territory about a 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
In 1872, the British North American Boundary Commission established its headquarters and main supply depot on the west bank of the Red River, just north of the international border. It was designated Fort Dufferin in honour of Canada's Governor General, the Earl of Dufferin.
The Canadian government acquired some of the buildings occupied by the Boundary Commission for the use of the Force while it made its final preparations for the trek westward.
In order for the Toronto contingent to reach Dufferin with all possible speed, arrangements were made for it to travel through the United States to the nearest rail point at Fargo, North Dakota. From Fargo the men and horses marched 240 kilometres to Dufferin. There they found the three divisions from Lower Fort Garry, under the command of Assistant Commissioner J. F. Macleod.
With the exception of a small detachment sent to Fort Ellice, Manitoba, the site designated as headquarters, the entire Force was gathered together for the first and only time in its history.
(Source: Stan Horall, Pictorial History of the RCMP)
