About Andrew Cusack
Writer, web designer, etc.; born in New York; educated in Argentina, Scotland, and South Africa; now based in London. read more
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The Royal Military College of St. John
WHAT BETTER WAY to celebrate this, the feast of St. John the Baptist and the national day of Quebec, than to bring you news of the reëstablishment of the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean. The site in the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu was first put to a military use in 1666 when the French soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment. The Collège militaire royal, however, was only founded in 1952 when it was inaugurated by the Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey, CC, CH, GCStJ, CD, PC as a classical college to increase the number of French-speaking officers in the Army, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
An artillery salute is fired as the Governor General arrives to re-open the Collège.
The end of the Cold War, however, resulted in massive cuts to Canada’s armed forces, and both the Collège militaire royal in Quebec and Royal Roads Military College in British Columbia faced the axe, as a traditional military education became the exclusive preserve of the old Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.
Lt. Gen. the Hon. Roméo Dallaire, OC, CMM, GOQ, MSC, CD — a Senator and alumnus of the Collège — said “The decision to close the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean was particularly ill-advised,” and urged its re-opening. The Hon. Marcel Prud’homme echoed the retired general’s sentiments, rising in the Senate to say “Honourable senators, the closing of Collège militaire royale de Saint-Jean is one error of the past that I find unforgivable. Given the very important role the new administration wants to give to the armed forces, could the government now consider reopening Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean as soon as possible?”
The band of the Royal 22eme Regiment lead the march-past for the Governor General.
The government decided last year to re-establish the Collège, though not as the full university it was when it closed in 1995. Instead, the CMR will be a CEGEP or Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel. CEGEPs are two-year programs, unique to Quebec, that are equivalent to the last year of American high school and the first year of university studies. For Québécois students, they are mandatory if one desires to proceed to university. The re-founded Collège militaire royal will act, in part, as a feeder school for the Royal Military College in Kingston as well as a place of education for those who desire a Francophone education in the military tradition.
The new cadets on parade.
Assembled and ready for inspection.
Her Excellency inspects the cadets.
After reviewing the troops, Her Excellency the Governor General unveiled the grant of arms from the Canadian Heraldic Authority alongside Colonel J.U.F. Pion, head of the Collège…
… while representations of the arms & flag, the Queen’s Colour, and the College Colour were also unveiled.
Col. Pion admires the resurrected arms.
So we wish a très bonne St-Jean-Baptiste to all the Québécois, and may St. John the Baptist continue to bless his Royal Military College, his province of Quebec, and all the Dominion of Canada!
ora pro nobis.
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Bonne Saint Jean to all.
The reopening of the college is a happy note to an overall difficult year for military heritage in Quebec. In April we lost the Voltigeurs de Quebec’s Manège Militaire” to flames: http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Quebec/2008/04/06/001-voltigeurs_incendie_manege_n.shtml .
Yikes! I had no idea! That’s one of my favorite buildings in Canada.
Well, they’ll have to rebuild it just as it was before.
As a graduate of both Royal Roads (now Royal Roads University) and RMC in the late 1980s, I must commend you for a superb post, and for raising the good news story of CMR’s return. The instant familiarity of it almost caused me to fall off my horse, but I’m okay now. Given how dear this is to me personally, with your permission I would enjoy republishing it at The Monarchist fully under your name and link.
By the way, CMR as a campus does not have any redeeming qualities whatsoever, located as it is in a rather abandoned looking industrial area of greater Montreal, without so much as one architecturally appealing building. RMC Kingston, on the other hand, is a series of old cannon forts with martellos, stone frigates, and the 1812 works, which magnificantly adds to its glory as an old British imperial military college. But the great shame would have to be losing Royal Roads, which was a cross between Nelsonian naval splendour and the grand feudal estate of an English Lord with sherwood forests, coastal mountains, lagooned medieval castle and all. The winning back of CMR doesn’t come even remotely close to losing that.
Yes, the campus is a bit grim to say the least. Maybe they should move it to the Citadelle of Quebec?
Royal Roads, needless to say, is exceptionally beautiful.
Feel free to republish!
Not much room in the citadelle! And it is true that RMC,and all of Kingston for that matter, have a distinguished ambiance.
As for the Voltigeurs, the future is still quite uncertain. I generally am not a fan of rebuilding to the identical (Umberto Baldini is somewhat of a mentor) but I think something must be done that brings the site back to life while maintaining the military heritage.
The ruins were a sight for sore eyes during the Eucharistic Congress. It had to happen the year when on July 3rd Quebec celebrates its 400th!
Shouldn’t that be, “Sancte Ioannes Baptista, ora pro nobis”? (cf. the Litany of the Saints.) You want vocatives, not datives.
God bless!
Vocatives indeed. Well spotted; and excellent article, Mr. Cusack. It’s always refreshing to see Canada’s noble military heritage discussed by a non-Canadian!