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Emergency Government Headquarters

Coordinates: 45°21′06″N 76°03′00″W / 45.35169°N 76.0499409°W / 45.35169; -76.0499409
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45°21′06″N 76°03′00″W / 45.35169°N 76.0499409°W / 45.35169; -76.0499409

Conference room at CEGHQ, former CFS Carp.
Teletype terminals at CEGHQ, former CFS Carp.
Organigramme.

Emergency Government Headquarters is the name given for a system of nuclear fallout shelters built by the Government of Canada in the 1950s and 1960s as part of continuity of government planning at the height of the Cold War. Situated at strategic locations across the country, the largest of these shelters are popularly referred to as "Diefenbunkers", a nickname coined by federal opposition politicians during the early 1960s. The nickname was derived from the last name of the Prime Minister of the day, John Diefenbaker, who authorized their construction.[1] Over fifty facilities were built along several designs for various classes of service.

Most of these facilities were built, often in great secrecy, at rural locations outside major cities across Canada. The majority of the larger facilities were two-story underground bunkers while the largest at CFS Carp had four floors; these facilities were designed to withstand a near-miss from a nuclear explosion. Each underground facility had entrances through massive blast doors at the surface, as well as extensive air filters and positive air pressure to prevent radiation infiltration. Underground storage was built for food, fuel, fresh water, and other supplies for the facilities which were capable of supporting several dozen people for a period of several weeks. The facilities were operated by personnel from the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, renamed to Communications Command after the 1968 unification of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Terminology

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Title Abbreviation Description and purpose
Central Emergency Government Headquarters CEGHQ Designed to shelter several hundred senior civil servants, politicians, and military officials serving in the Government of Canada and Canadian Armed Forces whose workplaces were in the Ottawa area for multiple weeks. The location of what became CFS Carp was upwind from the National Capital Region. The original location selected for the CEGHQ was approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Almonte at 45°15′7″N 76°19′32″W / 45.25194°N 76.32556°W / 45.25194; -76.32556. However, the Almonte site was abandoned in favour of Carp due to extensive ground water.
Regional Emergency Government Headquarters REGHQ Designed to shelter up to 200 senior civil servants, politicians, and military officials from nearby provincial capitals for up to 1-2 weeks.
Interim Regional Emergency Government Headquarters IREGHQ
Municipal Emergency Government Headquarters MEGHQ Designed to shelter up to several dozen municipal staff, politicians, and military officials in larger urban centres for several days. They were constructed by municipalities to federal specifications. They were intended to help coordinate rescue and reconstruction efforts.
Zone Emergency Government Headquarters ZEGHQ Built within the basements of existing or new buildings, designed to shelter up to 70 persons.
Federal Department Relocation Site FDRS Multiple locations upwind from the National Capital Region where essential staff in departments within the Government of Canada could work in a self-contained facility for up to 2 weeks.
Communications Relay Unit CRU A dispersed network of radio transmitter/receiver stations around the National Capital Region supporting the CEGHQ and FDRS facilities. These functioned as detachments to the CEGHQ.
Regional Relay Unit RRU A dispersed network of radio transmitter/receiver stations located near, and providing support to, REGHQ and MEGHQ facilities. Each RRU functioned as a detachment to an REGHQ or MEGHQ.
Nuclear Detonation Reporting Post NUDET A dispersed network of observation posts containing instrumentation to be staffed during a time of crisis. Each NUDET would have trained specialists who would report the location of ground zero for a nuclear detonation, as well as the height of the explosion, yield of the weapon, time of detonation, intensity of radioactive fallout, and latest known meteorological data. There were 3-5 NUDETs located in a circular pattern around 16 Canadian urban centres believed to be targets. NUDETs were situated between 48 km (30 mi) and 128 km (80 mi) from each urban centre.

Facilities

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Type Lodger Unit Location Province Coordinates Current status
CEGHQ CFS Carp Carp Ontario 45°21′06″N 76°02′50″W / 45.35167°N 76.04722°W / 45.35167; -76.04722 (CEGHQ Carp) Open to the public as Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum
REGHQ Camp Nanaimo Nanaimo British Columbia 49°08′54″N 123°58′18″W / 49.14833°N 123.97167°W / 49.14833; -123.97167 (REGHQ Nanaimo) Locked and Flooded
REGHQ CFB Penhold Penhold Alberta 52°10′22″N 113°51′48″W / 52.17278°N 113.86333°W / 52.17278; -113.86333 (REGHQ Penhold) Demolished
REGHQ CFB Shilo Shilo Manitoba 49°48′01″N 99°37′40″W / 49.80028°N 99.62778°W / 49.80028; -99.62778 (REGHQ Shilo) Demolished. Mound used by local units for PT training.
REGHQ CFB Borden Borden Ontario 44°17′32″N 79°53′56″W / 44.29222°N 79.89889°W / 44.29222; -79.89889 (REGHQ Borden) Entrance covered with dirt.
REGHQ CFB Valcartier Valcartier Quebec 46°53′13″N 71°29′12″W / 46.88694°N 71.48667°W / 46.88694; -71.48667 (REGHQ Valcartier) In use as barracks
REGHQ CFS Debert Debert Nova Scotia 45°25′15″N 63°27′3″W / 45.42083°N 63.45083°W / 45.42083; -63.45083 (REGHQ Debert) Open to the public as Debert Military Museum
MEGHQ MEGHQ-FREEPORT, County of Waterloo[2] Kitchener Ontario 43°25′25″N 80°24′45″W / 43.42361°N 80.41250°W / 43.42361; -80.41250 Disused, proposed to be restored
FDRS Kemptville Kemptville Ontario  
FDRS Pembroke Pembroke Ontario  
FDRS Renfrew Renfrew Ontario  
FDRS Arnprior Arnprior Ontario  
FDRS Cornwall Cornwall Ontario  
FDRS Carleton Place Carleton Place Ontario  
FDRS Smith's Falls Smiths Falls Ontario  
CRU CFS Carp Richardson Detachment Richardson Ontario 44°56′12″N 76°08′42″W / 44.93673°N 76.1449247°W / 44.93673; -76.1449247 (CFS Carp Richardson Detachment) Sealed with concrete
CRU CFS Carp Almonte Detachment Almonte Ontario 45°15′43″N 76°09′08″W / 45.26188°N 76.15213°W / 45.26188; -76.15213 (CFS Carp Almonte Detachment)
CRU CFS Carp Dunrobin Detachment Dunrobin Ontario 45°26′54″N 76°02′51″W / 45.448407°N 76.047474°W / 45.448407; -76.047474 (CFS Carp Dunrobin Detachment)
RRU CFS Debert Masstown Detachment Masstown Nova Scotia 45°22′38″N 63°26′6″W / 45.37722°N 63.43500°W / 45.37722; -63.43500 (CFS Debert Masstown Detachment)
RRU CFS Debert Great Village Detachment Great Village Nova Scotia 45°25′18″N 63°33′33″W / 45.42167°N 63.55917°W / 45.42167; -63.55917 (CFS Debert Great Village Detachment)
RRU Camp Nanaimo Nanoose Bay Detachment Nanoose Bay British Columbia 49°16′27″N 124°13′35″W / 49.27417°N 124.22639°W / 49.27417; -124.22639 (CFS Nanaimo Nanoose Bay Detachment)
RRU CFB Penhold Transmitter Detachment Penhold Alberta 52°7′42″N 113°53′55″W / 52.12833°N 113.89861°W / 52.12833; -113.89861 (CFB Penhold Transmitter Detachment)
RRU CFB Penhold Receiver Detachment Penhold Alberta 52°11′3″N 113°58′7″W / 52.18417°N 113.96861°W / 52.18417; -113.96861 (CFB Penhold Receiver Detachment)
RRU CFB Shilo Hughes Detachment Hughes Manitoba 49°52′17″N 99°32′26″W / 49.87139°N 99.54056°W / 49.87139; -99.54056 (CFB Shilo Hughes Detachment)
RRU CFB Borden Edenvale Detachment Edenvale Ontario 44°26′11″N 79°57′51″W / 44.43639°N 79.96417°W / 44.43639; -79.96417 (CFB Borden Edenvale Detachment)
RRU CFB Borden Brentwood Detachment Brentwood Ontario 44°20′40″N 79°55′38″W / 44.34444°N 79.92722°W / 44.34444; -79.92722 (CFB Borden Brentwood Detachment)
RRU CFB Valcartier St-Raymond Detachment St-Raymond Quebec 46°51′12″N 71°49′30″W / 46.85333°N 71.82500°W / 46.85333; -71.82500 (CFB Valcartier St-Raymond Detachment)

Decommissioning and legacy

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Following the end of the Cold War, all but one of the Diefenbunkers have been decommissioned and either covered over, demolished or sold. Only the facility located at CFB Valcartier remains in use, as an itinerant accommodations barracks.[citation needed]

The two Diefenbunkers which members of the public may visit are located at former CFS Carp in Ontario and CFS Debert. CFS Carp was decommissioned in 1994 and has been converted into a year-round museum dedicated to the history of the Cold War. CFS Debert in Nova Scotia was open for tours for the decade following its closure in 1994 as part of a local military museum. It was later used for summer accommodations for an air cadet gliding school. In 2009, it was sold and then resold for use as a secure data storage facility. In 2018, CFS Debert reopened to the public, featuring historical tours, escape rooms, laser tag, special events, and more. In 2019, the present owner of the Diefenbunker at former CFS Debert purchased the neighbouring NATO building. The plans for the NATO building are currently unknown.[citation needed]

The Diefenbunker that was located at former CFS Penhold in Alberta was decommissioned in 1994.[citation needed] It was sold to a pair of businessmen from Red Deer in 1995 for CA$472,000 (equivalent to $846,475 in 2023). Members of the Hells Angels, a criminal outlaw motorcycle gang, in addition to a group of white supremacists and a car theft group from Miami, were also rumored to have been interested in purchasing the bunker; the businessmen later claimed the Hells Angels had offered them CA$1.3 million for it. However, the government repurchased the building in 1998 for CA$1.25 million (equivalent to $2.15 million in 2023) in addition to $100,000 in disbursement fees due to potential security risks; they had the shelter demolished in 2001.[3]

A Toronto Star report in February 2020 discussed another nuclear bunker, intended for the politicians of Toronto, Ontario, built during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Located in a home on Old Yonge St. in Aurora, Ontario and still in place, this concrete-reinforced room was intended "to serve as a control centre to house Toronto politicians and emergency personnel in the event of a nuclear attack". According to the report, the bunker includes maps, status boards for recording casualties, one hundred telephone lines, water tanks and an escape route.[4]

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The film The Sum of All Fears has a scene that was shot on location in the Diefenbunker at former CFS Carp. The scene consisted of the President of the United States, James Cromwell, and his political advisors performing a war game scenario.

The finale of the second season of The Amazing Race Canada featured a task completed at the Diefenbunker at former CFS Carp. One member of each team had to search among the bunker's vast array of rooms for three of five hidden souvenirs: a helicopter, a tank, a jeep, a plane, and a compass.

References

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  1. ^ Joshua, Foer (2016-09-20). Atlas Obscura. Thuras, Dylan,, Morton, Ella. New York. ISBN 9780761169086. OCLC 959200507.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Thompson, Catherine (16 January 2021). "Cold War bunker a unique piece of Waterloo Region's history that should be preserved, heritage committee says". The Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. ^ Harrington, Carol (August 26, 2001). "Bomb shelter relic from Cold War, Alta's 'Diefenbunker,' is demolished". The Canadian Press. ProQuest 347735367.
  4. ^ Javed, Noor (February 23, 2020). "Inside this Aurora home is a nuclear bunker meant for Toronto politicians in the '60s". The Toronto Star. Retrieved March 10, 2020.

See also

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References

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