Canadian Forces Base Trenton

Canadian Forces Base Trenton

 8 Wing/Canadian Forces Base Trenton is located 167 km east of Toronto on Lake Ontario's Bay of Quinte. Begun in 1929 on 384 ha of flat farmland adjacent to the town of TRENTON, it replaced Camp BORDEN's inadequate air force facilities. Constructed during the Great Depression as a relief project, it became the centre for the RCAF's sea and land operations and training in the 1930s. During the Second World War it was the hub of the BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN. Renamed CFB Trenton upon unification (1968), the base at various times has housed units of air operations, training and support, their activities including air-traffic control and communications, air transport and movement, civil and military search and rescue, weather forecasting and air maintenance, and training systems for the Canadian Forces and the UN. 8 Wing is Canada's busiest air base. With its 2500 military and civilian employees, 3300 dependants and modern urban facilities, it has an operating budget of $80 million, not including salaries. As such, it is a prime economic influence on the nearby cities of BELLEVILLE and QUINTE WEST and the surrounding district.