Time marches on for heritage military institute

By Eric Morse –

The Royal Canadian Military Institute (RCMI) and Heritage Toronto celebrated Heritage Day by unveiling a new plaque

Ontario Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Mike Colle, Heritage Toronto President Peter Carruthers, RCMI Board member Maj Diane Kruger, RCMI President LCol (ret’d) Jeffrey Dorfman, and Councillor Adam Vaughan unveil the Heritage Toronto plaque.

commemorating the historic RCMI building at 426 University Ave. on Feb. 19.

“One of the few remaining early buildings on University, the RCMI has long been a distinctive Toronto landmark,” said Heritage Toronto’s Peter Carruthers.

“Within it, the Institute has become one of Canada’s leading voices on matters of defense, diplomacy and peace. Heritage Toronto is proud to recognize the important history of the Royal Canadian Military Institute building, and to celebrate that history on Heritage Day, the opening day of Ontario Heritage Week.”

The President of the Institute, LCol. Jeffrey J. Dorfman, spoke on behalf of the RCMI.

“This organization has played a vital, active, and essential role in Canada’s military past. It has an equally important role to play in Canada’s future. We are proud of our history and its close association with this building,” said Dorfman, “and we are proud of the fact that we share such an important part of Toronto’s heritage.”

Councillor Adam Vaughan acknowledged the efforts of Heritage Toronto and RCMI to celebrate Toronto’s past.

“Flanked by two 19th-century nine-pounder guns on the modern thoroughfare of University Avenue, the RCMI is hard to miss. This remarkable facility is a rare remnant of University’s early days as a quiet boulevard dominated by trees, not high-rises. I congratulate Heritage Toronto and the RCMI for the work they’ve done to recognize this important piece of Toronto’s heritage,” Vaughan said.

The RCMI was founded as the Canadian Military Institute in 1890 in an effort to better train the militia officers which made up its membership. The present building, a Beaux-Arts structure designed by the architecture firm Chadwick and Beckett, was opened in 1908, and expanded to its present size in 1912. The façade was originally of brick and stone, with second-floor balconies (now closed in) that once allowed visiting members of the Royal Family to survey military parades down University Avenue. Inside, its elegant rooms contain the largest privately maintained library in Canada, as well as a stunning collection of historic military artifacts.

On June 23, 1948, the Institute was granted the title “Royal” by His Majesty King George VI. Women were accepted as members in 1979, and the Royal Canadian Military Institute’s membership now includes civilians as well as serving and retired officers.