"Instructors of the Infantry School receive training from staff at SIG Sauer on the new SIG Sauer P320, C22 9mm pistol of the Canadian Armed Forces at the Infantry School, Combat Training Center, 5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, New Brunswick. Photo by: Cpl Morgan LeBlanc, Canadian Armed Forces
Defence Minister David J. McGuinty and David Myles, MP for Fredericton–Oromocto, marked the start of Phase 1 at a groundbreaking ceremony in Oromocto.
What's being built
Phase 1 covers six work streams:
Upgrades to priority roads
Design work for static-range and impact-area firebreak roads
Design of two replacement bridges
Modernized anti-armour range infrastructure
New medical and administrative facilities at Camp Petersville
Restoration of select Austere Village buildings
K-Line Construction Limited, a New Brunswick firm, won the Phase 1 construction contract in June. National Defence estimates the work will support about 100 regional jobs. Phase 2, expected to start in 2028, will build the infrastructure designed during Phase 1.
Why it matters
Gagetown is not a peripheral training site. It hosts the Combat Training Centre and the Armour, Artillery, Infantry and Tactics Schools, along with the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering, supporting training for Regular and Reserve units as well as allies and partner forces.
Aging roads, bridges and range infrastructure directly limit how realistic and how frequent that training can be. This investment is framed as restoring capacity, not adding new capability, though the modernized anti-armour ranges suggest at least some capability upgrade alongside the repairs.
The players
Defence Construction Canada is the contracting authority managing the project. President and CEO Derrick Cheung called it a reflection of collaboration between DND, DCC and industry partners aimed at delivering long-term value for the Canadian Armed Forces.
McGuinty tied the investment to broader readiness goals, saying it gives soldiers the infrastructure they need for demanding missions while supporting New Brunswick jobs. Myles, speaking for the local riding, called Gagetown a cornerstone of the community and welcomed the jobs and modernized facilities.
The bigger picture
The Gagetown project is one piece of a broader federal push on defence infrastructure and climate resilience across the Canadian Armed Forces' network of bases. National Defence describes it as part of continuing work by the Defence Team to strengthen operational readiness and improve infrastructure resilience to climate impacts.
At $871 million for Phase 1 design and construction alone, with Phase 2 still to come in 2028, Gagetown becomes one of the larger single-base infrastructure commitments in the current investment cycle.
