No. 2 Canadian Army University Course

The Canadian Army University Training Course was developed to fill a need for trained officers and technical specialists during the Second World War. A partnership between the army and Canadian Universities sought to give high achieving high school students the first year of a university engineering program, combined with basic army training, in order to create a qualified pool of potential officers and technicians from which they could draw.

The program ran for two years--first as a pilot program of 160 students in 1942-1943 at the University of Toronto (No. 1 C.A.U.C.) , and then expanding to 1,300 students at 11 other universities, including 70 at Acadia, for the 1943-1944 year (No. 2 C.A.U.C.). In the end, this initiative resulted in an overproduction of qualified officers, leading the program to disband at the end of 1944. Most of the graduates went on to further officer training, and also served in infantry, armoured units, and technical trades positions overseas.

At Acadia, C.A.U.C. students were first housed in the War Memorial Gym, and then moved into the “new barracks” (the basement of the eventual War Memorial House, or Barrax) for second term. C.A.U.C. members fully integrated into Acadia campus life, participating in Interclass and Intercollegiate debating, Intermediate and Varsity Football teams, the Amateur skit show, the swimming meet, skiing, skating, and Interclass and Varsity hockey.