Canadian Forces Base Halifax (CFB Halifax) is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic.
It is the largest Canadian Forces Base in terms of the number of posted personnel and is formed from an amalgamation of military properties situated around the strategic Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia.
HMC Dockyard Halifax is located on the western side of Halifax Harbour at the southern end of The Narrows. It hosts the headquarters of Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT), the formal name for the Atlantic Fleet. HMC Dockyard Halifax contains berths for Canadian and foreign warships, Formation Supply Facility, Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Scott, shore-based training facilities as well as operations buildings for MARLANT and other organizations such as Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax (JRCC Halifax).
HMC Dockyard Halifax also has an adjunct facility directly across the harbour on the Dartmouth shoreline with jetties and various buildings, including Defence Research and Development Canada – Atlantic.
HMC Dockyard Halifax maintains exclusive control of several anchorage areas within the limits of Halifax Harbour and prevents civilian vessels from sailing in the vicinity of military facilities; a floating force protection boom system was constructed to prevent small vessels from unauthorized passage near warships and pierside facilities.
The original Naval Yard clock has been restored and moved to the Halifax Ferry Terminal entrance while the original Naval Yard bell is preserved at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, a museum which also features a large diorama depicting the Naval Yard in 1813 at its height in the Age of Sail. The dockyard was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1923, while Admiralty House was designated a National Historic Site in 1978.
Stadacona
Stadacona, referred to as HMCS Stadacona before 1968 and frequently referred to as “Stad”, is an adjunct to HMC Dockyard located west of the waterfront in the North End of the Halifax peninsula. Prior to the arrival of the French, the location that would become Quebec was the home of a small Iroquois village called “Stadacona”, after which the base is named.
Stadacona contains the Canadian Forces Naval Engineering School (with facilities at Herring Cove/York Redoubt, south of Halifax), the Canadian Forces Naval Operations School, the base hospital, the Canadian Forces Maritime Warfare Centre, and various messes. Stadacona is also home to the headquarters of 5th Canadian Division and the Maritime Command Museum.
Stadacona was built as the British Army’s Wellington Barracks, later known as the Nelson Barracks, as part of the Halifax Defence Complex. The British military forces departed from Canada in 1906. During the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Navy appropriated the site from the army and it was transformed into HMCS Stadacona.
