A group of recruits during a gym training session supervised by the Personnel Support Program (PSP) at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec – Supplied Photo
The Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School (CFLRS) plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) by providing basic training to all recruits and officer cadets. Operating in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, with additional capacity at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden, Ontario, CFLRS is the CAF’s largest training unit. The school delivers rigorous instruction in military skills, physical fitness, discipline, and leadership, fostering an environment that promotes teamwork and resilience while instilling the CAF military ethos. CFLRS ensures that all graduates are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and sense of pride necessary to serve their country with professionalism and dedication.
A recent history of basic training
During the Cold War, the CAF had a strength of over 89,000 personnel and three dedicated basic training centres: the Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School (CFOCS) in Chilliwack, British Columbia, the Canadian Forces Recruit School (CFRS) in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and CFRS Cornwallis in Nova Scotia. In the early 1990s, as the CAF was reduced in size, the basic training program was consolidated in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, at the iconic Général-Jean-Victor-Allard Building, better known today as the “Mega.” Recruits for the Francophone BMQ were joined with candidates at the Canadian Forces Language School (CFLS) as well as the École Technique Forces Canadienne (ETFC), which trained non-commissioned members (NCMs). The ETFC was merged into the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers School at CFB Borden, leaving CFLRS and CFLS as the remaining schools in the Mega.
Basic training today
Today, BMQ is a nine-week course for recruits, and BMOQ is 12 weeks for officer and naval cadets, with the first eight weeks of each course being identical. CFLRS is designed to house 27 active training platoons, each capable of delivering four serials of BMQ or BMOQ each year, at 60 candidates each, for a total of 6,480 candidates each year. The school is actively supported by 41 Health Services Centre, as well as the Canadian Army’s 2nd Canadian Division Support Group. Their dedicated support allows CFLRS to receive up to four platoons every week, with up to 240 candidates conducting administrative and medical intake and being issued military clothing and equipment every week.
In 2023, CFLRS opened a detachment at CFB Borden, known as Delta Division. In early 2025, Delta Division will expand from running a single training platoon to up to two concurrent courses, adding another 480 potential BMQ graduates every year. CFLRS also maintains contingency plans to expand production for over 7,100 candidates to be trained annually.
The future of basic training
CFLRS is a dynamic unit, where personnel from all services and trades lead by example. As the CAF focuses on recruitment, leaders are needed to join the team of professional basic training instructors. The goal is to keep candidates engaged and interested, provide relevant and practical skills that all CAF members will use, and to graduate candidates from all services and trades who feel a genuine sense of accomplishment and pride as they move on to their trade-specific training.
