The Governor General's Foot Guards (GGFG) is the senior reserve infantry regiment in the Canadian Army. Located in Ottawa at the Cartier Square Drill Hall, the regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry unit, and the members are part-time soldiers.
The GGFG are infantry reserve soldiers who train part-time and full-time for domestic operations and international missions. This involves training for domestic operations where the unit deployed members to help during a natural disaster or public emergency such as it did during the 1998 Ice Storm, flooding in 2017 and 2019, and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It also involves training for international operations and support to the Regular Force on operations in countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Latvia, and Ukraine where troops from the regiment have deployed in recent years.
Members of the GGFG train part time between September and June, usually Tuesday evenings and one weekend a month. Between May and August, members can be employed full time in a variety of roles such as students or instructors on training courses, taking part in tasks such as the Ceremonial Guard, and attending field exercises.
The regiment also runs supplementary training programs such as the marksmanship program to improve shooting skills, and the leadership development training program to prepare soldiers to attend leadership courses. Additionally the regiment runs sports and fitness programs. The GGFG are also affiliated with 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (1 RCR) for reserve integration training.
The GGFG perpetuate the 2nd Canadian Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), CEF, and 77th Battalion (Ottawa), CEF, from the First World War.
Regimental structure
The regiment is composed of the following sub-units:
Regimental Headquarters Regimental Headquarters is responsible for the overall command, control, and administration of all members of the regiment. No. 1 Company (Rifle Company) The rifle company conducts collective field training exercises to train soldiers to work together as a team across a range of tactical scenarios. Most of the trained soldiers in the regiment are part of the rifle company. No. 2 Company (Training Company) The training company runs individual training courses so members can become qualified or complete specialized courses. It is composed of instructors and students taking part in individual training courses. New members of the regiment are members of the training company until they are fully trained. No. 3 Company (Combat Service Support) The Support Company provides logistical support to the training being conducted by No. 1 and 2 Companies. GGFG Band The regimental band is a brass-and-reed band that represents the regiment at performances around the city and beyond. Public Duties Company Public Duties Company (PDC) plans and conducts the Ceremonial Guard during the summer months as well as supporting the governor general and Rideau Hall with ceremonial tasks throughout the year.
The regiment also supports the 2784 GGFG Army Cadets of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets.
The PDC, given the suspension of Ceremonial Guard activities owing to the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, is ad interim the official guard of honour of the Canadian Armed Forces. This status will continue until the Guard's reconstitution.
Lineage
The GGFG originated in Ottawa, Ontario, on 7 June 1872 as the 1st Battalion Governor General's Foot Guards. It was redesignated as the Governor General's Foot Guards on 16 September 1887; as The Governor General's Foot Guards on 1 April 1896; as the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The Governor General's Foot Guards on 7 November 1941; as The Governor General's Foot Guards on 31 January 1946; as The Governor General's Foot Guards (5th Battalion, The Canadian Guards) on 1 September 1954; as the Governor General's Foot Guards (5th Battalion, The Canadian Guards) on 25 April 1958; and finally returned to the name Governor General's Foot Guards on 1 September 1976.
In the Canadian Forces, units may make formal, official links between each other called affiliations. These affiliations are "to foster continuous fraternal connections between military organizations beyond the close, professional relationships which are always encouraged." The GGFG were affiliated with the Canadian Guards, and from 1954 to 1976 they used a Canadian Guards battalion number in token of the affiliation. Despite the battalion number, the GGFG were considered a separate regiment from the Canadian Guards. The affiliation automatically ceased when the Canadian Guards were put on the Supplementary Order of Battle in 1970.