Land Force Western Area (LFWA) was a formation of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the 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 respo ...

responsible for operations in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

s of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. LFWA was headquartered at

CFB Edmonton CFB Edmonton (also called 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton) is a Canadian Forces base located in Sturgeon County adjacent to the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as Edmonton Garrison or "Steele Barracks". His ...

. The command was formed in 1991. In 2013 it was announced that LFWA would be renamed 3rd Canadian Division. This change took place in the summer of 2014.

History

LFWA was created on 1 September 1991, taking command of what was previously Prairie Militia Area, Pacific Militia Area, and the Regular Force Army units and formations in western Canada from the northern lakehead region of Ontario to the Pacific Ocean. At that point in time, the Militia Areas ceased to exist, and the seven subordinate Militia Districts were reorganised into four: British Columbia District, Alberta District, Saskatchewan District, and Manitoba-Lakehead District. Later that decade, the four reserve force districts were again reorganized into three Canadian Brigade Groups. In 2014 LFWA was renamed 3rd Canadian Division. With this change of name, the formation was also granted the identifying patch and historical lineage to the division that fought in the two world wars.

Commanders

*Major-General T.F. de Faye (1991–93) *Brigadier-General Beare, CD (2004–2005) *Brigadier-General Jorgensen, OMM, MSM, CD (2008 −2010) *Brigadier-General P.F. Wynnyk, OMM, CD (2010–2012) *Brigadier-General J.C.G. Juneau (2012–2014)

Units

Land Force Western Area had four

brigade group Brigade Enterprises Limited is a real estate and property development company that is based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The Brigade Group also has operations in Mangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chikmagalur, Ahmedabad and a r ...

s (one

Regular Force In the Canadian Armed Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Primary Reserve which has more flexibility. There are many bases and wings across Canada, and factors like trade, career ...

and three

Reserve Force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

), and an Area Support Group. There were also five units are under direct command of LFWA that did not operate under the brigade or area support groups. They were: * Land Force Western Area Headquarters – (

) *

6 Intelligence Company 6 Intelligence Company (6 Int Coy; French: ) is a military intelligence unit of the Canadian Army. It is a line unit that falls directly under 3rd Canadian Division command, which is headquartered in Edmonton. The company is divided into three p ...

* 1 Area Construction Troop, 4 Engineer Support Regiment – (CFB Edmonton) * 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group – (Group HQ in Victoria, BC. Ranger Company HQs in Victoria, Edmonton and Winnipeg, plus Junior Canadian Ranger Company HQ also in Victoria. 42 Canadian Ranger Patrols (platoon size) across the four western provinces) * Land Force Western Area Training Centre – (

CFB Wainwright 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright, commonly referred to as Canadian Forces Base Wainwright or CFB Wainwright, is a Canadian Forces Base located in Denwood, Alberta, adjacent to the town of Wainwright. Military Camp Wainwr ...

) The LFWA maintained an official

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

until 1998.

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group was a Regular Force brigade group based out of

1 Area Support Group

1 Area Support Group was headquartered out of CFB Edmonton. The Support Group was responsible for providing service and support to the units of Land Force Western Area.

38 Canadian Brigade Group

38 Canadian Brigade Group (38 CBG) was a Reserve Force brigade group based out of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. It's composed of units in

and eastwards into

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Thunder Bay, Ontario Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

39 Canadian Brigade Group

39 Canadian Brigade Group (39 CBG) was a

Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Première réserve des Forces canadiennes) is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the ...

brigade group based out of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia. All of the units of the brigade are from the province of British Columbia.

41 Canadian Brigade Group

41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG) was a

brigade group based out of

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

. The units forming the brigade group are from the province of

, as well as a company based out of

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the o ...

Museums

Acronyms

* ASU: Area Support Unit * CFB: Canadian Forces Base * RCA: The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery * RCAC:

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC; french: links=no, Corps blindé royal canadien) is the armoured corps within the Canadian Army, including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regimentsThe Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's Printe ...

References

{{coord missing, Canada Divisions of Canada

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Military units and formations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Canada