Emergency Government Headquarters - Decommissioning and Legacy

Decommissioning and Legacy

Following the end of the Cold War, most of the Diefenbunkers were decommissioned. Several of the facilities on active Canadian Forces Bases, such as CFB Borden and CFB Valcartier, remain in government control. Diefenbunkers located on smaller Canadian Forces Stations were mostly sold off, or demolished.

The only Diefenbunker which members of the public may visit is the one at former CFS Carp, which stood down in 1994 and now converted into a year-round Cold War museum. However, the Canadian military cleared out the bunker as it was decommissioned, so the museum has had to try to reacquire the original furnishings that were disposed of.

A Diefenbunker located at CFS Debert was opened for tours for several years. As of 2005 it was home to the cadet regional gliding school in the summer, and was also occasionally used as a barracks by military units in transit across Nova Scotia. In 2009, it was sold to a data firm.

One interesting footnote surrounds the Diefenbunker that was located at CFB Penhold in Alberta. This facility was decommissioned and at one point a movie studio expressed interest, but was ultimately purchased by a member of the public. When subsequent owners of the Penhold Diefenbunker advertised the facility for resale, there was rumour that a chapter of an outlaw biker gang, possibly the Hells Angels, was expressing interest. This prompted the federal government to repurchase the facility and have it systematically demolished and hauled away at considerable expense.