The Victorian Era

Back to Napoleonic Period

Colonial Canada
Napoleonic Period
First World War
Second World War
Cold War
Today

The first guides unit in Canada was the “4th Troop of Volunteer Cavalry of Montreal (or Guides)”, formed on 7 February 1862. Renamed “The Royal Guides or Governor General’s Body Guard for Lower Canada,” and later “The Guides,” the unit was disbanded in 1869 after helping to repel Fenian raiders.

The North-West Rebellion (1885)

During the North-West Rebellion, various irregular cavalry units were used as scouts. One of these scout units, drawn from the Dominion Land Survey, was called the “Intelligence Corps.” With a strength of three officers and thirty men performing long-range reconnaissance and light cavalry functions, it was the first unit to be designated an “Intelligence” unit in the British Empire. These scout units, the forerunners of the Fort Garry Horse and North Saskatchewan Regiment, were disbanded by 18 September 1885.

The Boer War (1899-1902)

During the Boer War in South Africa, Canadian mounted troops gathered information of intelligence value with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse and British scout units. Canadian intelligence efforts in South Africa led to the appointment on 6 February 1901 of Lieutenant-Colonel V.B. Rivers, RCA, as the first Intelligence Staff Officer of the Canadian Militia. Shortly after, on 1 April 1903, the Corps of Guides was created in the Canadian Army. Under the new structure, a District Intelligence Officer responsible to Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI) was appointed to oversee Corps of Guides units established in each of Canada’s twelve Military Districts. The first DGMI, Lieutenant-Colonel W.A.C. Denny, had a very small staff overseeing information collection and mapping, and approximately 185 militia officers serving the Canadian Corps of Guides.