Some More General Information

The cadet program is a Canada wide program, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Through your involvement in the cadet program locally, and during the summer at our regional summer camps, you will meet new friends. The friendship between those who have shared the challenge of cadet training is a strong one, and is one that becomes a life long bond. The leadership skills and self-discipline you learn from cadets give you an edge and a qualification that will make you stand out from the crowd. However, in order to gain the benefits available to you from the cadet system you have to be willing to give something of yourself. You have to be dedicated and disciplined, and strive to reach a level of personal excellence.

The aim of the cadet movement is expressed as the development of leadership, citizenship, physical fitness, and an interest in the Canadian Forces.

Welcome to the oldest youth organization in Canada. The Army Cadets traces its origin to the year 1862, five years before confederation, when "associations for drill and musketry" were formed in schools in response to Fenian raids. In those days drill was not just a parade square exercise but the method of maneuvering troops on the battlefield. In 1887 the government began issuing arms and equipment to schools that agreed to form these drill associations, which by then were called "Cadet Corps". By 1908 the government was training teachers as army reserve officers to conduct physical training, drill, and musketry in schools. Provincial departments of education agreed to encourage cadet training, and this partnership contributed to the development of physical education programs in Canadian schools. In 1910 Lord Strathcona formed the Strathcona Trust, giving the cadet movement a gift of a half million dollars. To this day, the Strathcona Trust still helps us to buy cadet training equipment, and the Ontario Education Act still authorizes school boards to "establish and maintain cadet corps". Recognizing the service of former cadets in both world wars, King George VI conferred the title "Royal" on Canadian army cadets in 1942.

The Canadian Cadet Organization, which includes Royal Canadian Sea, Army, and Air Cadets, currently has enrolled about 70,000 cadets across Canada. There are about 25,000 army cadets currently enrolled. Female members currently comprise about 30% of the Canadian Cadet Organization.

The officers who train cadets are members of the Cadet Instructors Cadre, a branch of the Canadian Forces Reserve. Cadets, however, are legally civilians; they are not members of the Canadian Forces, have no obligation to perform military service, and are not subject to the code of service discipline. Nevertheless, by joining a cadet corps young people agree to cheerfully obey their officers and superior cadets, to attend cadet training each week, to observe military standards of grooming and conduct, and to care responsibly for all uniforms and equipment entrusted to them. Parents and guardians show that they agree with these obligations when they countersign a cadet Enrollment application.

The objectives of the Canadian Cadet Organization are to foster citizenship, leadership, and physical fitness, and to introduce our members to career opportunities in the Canadian Forces. We provide a structure in which young people develop self-reliance self-discipline, initiative, responsibility, decision making, mutual respect, and lasting friendships. In selecting cadets for promotion we seek to reward and encourage personal excellence. According to their rank, senior cadets may lead a section, platoon, or company, teach classroom lessons, and plan field training exercises. Army Cadets learn such things as drill, small arms safety, map using, first aid, and fieldcraft. They take part in sports, cultural tours, weekend field training, and special events like Remembrance Day.