The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps () is the infantry corps of the Canadian Army and includes regular and reserve force regiments. Originally formed as the Canadian Infantry Corps on 2 September 1942 to encompass all existing infantry regiments, including regiments of foot guards, in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

. The corps was granted its "royal" designation in 1947 and was designated Royal Canadian Infantry Corps 30 April 1947, to be redesignated The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps 22 March 1948, and revert to Royal Canadian Infantry Corps 17 February 1964. The badge of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps consists of Argent three maple leaves conjoined on one stem within an annulus Gules fimbriated and inscribed INFANTRY • in letters Or, the whole ensigned by the Royal Crown proper set above a scroll Or inscribed with the Motto in letters Sable and surmounted by two rifles in saltire Or. The three maple leaves conjoined on one stem, taken from the Royal Arms of Canada, represent service to Canada, and the Crown, service to the sovereign. The crossed rifles denote infantry and have been used in badges of infantry units as well as of the officer cadet programme. Red and white are the

national colours of Canada The national colours of Canada () are red and white, the former being symbolic of England and the latter of France, the colours having been used representatively by those countries in the past. The maple is one of the national symbols and red is ...

. "INFANTRY" and "" are a form of the bilingual branch title and "" is the motto of the corps. In 1968, with the unification of the Canadian Army into the Canadian Armed Forces, the name of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps was changed to simply the "Infantry Branch". As of April 2013, the traditional designation "Royal Canadian Infantry Corps" has been officially restored. Today, the administration and training of both the regular and reserve infantry that form part of the

is the responsibility of the Infantry School (), which runs officer classification courses as well as NCO and Warrant Officer trades training at

CFB Gagetown 5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, formerly known as and commonly referred to as CFB Gagetown, is a large Canadian Forces Base covering an area over , located in southwestern New Brunswick. It is the biggest facility in East ...

Tasks

* To destroy the enemy in close combat * To defend a position by the holding of ground * To fight as covering force troops * To act as all or part of a reserve to counter-attack or block * To participate in airmobile, airborne and amphibious operations * To establish surveillance and conduct patrols * To conduct security tasks, including rear area security * To exploit the effects of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons

Regular Force

The 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment is the sole airmobile battalion of the Regular Force. The two other regular force regiments both retain a parachute company in their respective 3rd battalions. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the infantry was expanded to meet Canada's global responsibilities as part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. Initially, the militia regiments provided men to a number of composite battalions: In 1953 it was decided that the composite battalions would be regimented. The two Canadian Infantry battalions were amalgamated with the 3rd Battalions of both

The Royal Canadian Regiment The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the primary reserve. The RCR is ranked first in the order of precedence amongst Canad ...

and

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricias) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

to form a new, four battalion regiment of foot guards, The

Canadian Guards The Canadian Guards (officially known as the Regiment of Canadian Guards) was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October ...

. The Rifle and Highland battalions were regimented by forming Regular Force units of the senior rifle and highland regiments of the Militia, The

Queen's Own Rifles of Canada The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in Toronto. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to currently have ...

and The

Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada is a Primary Reserve, reserve infantry regiment in 34 Canadian Brigade Group, 2nd Canadian Division, of the Canadian Army. The regiment is at 2067, rue Bleury (2067, Bleury Street) in Montreal, ...

. A further infantry regiment, the

Canadian Airborne Regiment The Canadian Airborne Regiment () was a Canadian Forces formation created on April 8, 1968. It was not an administrative regiment in the commonly accepted British Commonwealth sense, but rather a tactical formation manned from other regiments and ...

, was formed in 1968 as a new airmobile rapid-reaction unit. Although a new formation, its soldiers were primarily recruited from the then existing infantry regiments of the Canadian Army.

Reserve

Supplementary Order of Battle

Regiments on the

Supplementary Order of Battle In the Canadian Army, a regiment is placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle when the need for the regiment's existence is no longer relevant. When placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle, a regiment is considered "virtually disbanded", and ...

legally exist but have no personnel or materiel.

Order of precedence

Notes

External links

Canadian Forces RecruitingCanadian Forces and Department of National Defence

List of Civilian organizations with prefix "Royal" - Heritage Canada.
* List of civilian organizations with the prefix "royal" prepared by th
Department of Canadian Heritage

References

{{Authority control Canadian Armed Forces personnel branches Administrative corps of the Canadian Army Organizations based in Canada with royal patronage Infantry units and formations of Canada Military units and formations established in 1942 Army units and formations of Canada in World War II