Camp Ipperwash

Military Camp Ipperwash (also Camp Ipperwash) is a former Canadian Forces training facility located in Lambton County, Ontario near Kettle Point. On April 14, 2016, it was returned to the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.

The shore frontage of this parcel, including the park immediately to the west, had been sold to non-aboriginal interests in 1927-1928 (the Crawford/White and the Scott purchases). The property for the park was purchased in 1932 and established in 1936. In April 1942, the Department of National Defence (DND) sought a voluntary surrender of the remaining property of the reserve behind these parcels to the east of the provincial park, however they were refused. DND then used the War Measures Act and expropriated the property, with the expropriation agreement indicating that the property would be returned to the First Nation when it was no longer needed for a military purpose.

In 1941 the Department of National Defence (DND) identified a requirement for an army training facility in southwestern Ontario. In February 1942, DND began investigating land on the shore of Lake Huron northeast of Sarnia adjacent to Ipperwash Provincial Park (est. in 1936). This property was a large parcel comprising the eastern third of the Stoney Point Reserve, controlled by the Chippewas Stoney Point First Nation.

Camp Ipperwash was formed on January 28, 1942 with the A29 Canadian Infantry Training Centre (A29 CITC) being the lodger unit. Following the land expropriation, buildings and a firing range were constructed on the property that spring and summer. By July 1942, sixteen Stony Point families had been moved further west to Kettle Point, giving DND full access to the new military training area. A29 CITC served as a "boot camp" or basic training centre for army recruits from southwestern Ontario (Military District #1) and ceased operations in 1945.

Following the end of World War II, DND indicated it was willing to return the majority of the expropriated land and would lease back any areas that were still required for training, however this offer was refused. It was generally thought that Camp Ipperwash would be identified as surplus to DND's requirements, which would enable the expropriated property to be returned to the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point. However, this was not the case and Camp Ipperwash remained in use as a training facility by the regular and reserve forces of the Canadian Army, as well as serving as a cadet summer training centre (CSTC) for the Royal Canadian Army Cadets beginning in 1948.

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Wikipedia