CFB Esquimalt Today
Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt is the home of Maritime Forces Pacific and Canada's Pacific Fleet, the frigates, coastal defence vessels and submarines based on the West Coast. Its main sites are HMC Dockyard on the east shore of Esquimalt Harbour, Naden next door along Admirals Road, home of the Base Hospital and Naval Fleet School (Pacific), and Work Point to the south, used mainly for junior officer training. Across the harbour in Colwood are F and D Jetty, Fleet Diving Unit Pacific and the Damage Control Training Facility, and the base also runs sites at Albert Head and Rocky Point in Metchosin.
In July 2026 the base newspaper put the Defence Team at about 6,500 military and civilian members, expected to grow to about 9,500 over the next decade. The same month, Ottawa named a preferred supplier for up to 12 new submarines, with the first four due in 2034, and news reports in May 2026 said more than $10 billion of base infrastructure was planned over the next decade, with the West Coast submarines expected to be based on the Colwood side of the harbour. A growing base means more people looking for homes near it for years to come. For the base's past, see our pages on the Esquimalt Dockyards and the history of Esquimalt.
Military Housing and Why Many Members Buy
The Canadian Forces Housing Agency runs its Esquimalt Housing Services Centre at 1343 Woodway Road. CFMWS counts roughly 700 residential housing units within 25 km of the base, mostly two- to four-bedroom houses and multiplexes in Esquimalt, Colwood and Metchosin, and members can apply 60 days before their change of strength date. Supply falls well short of need: a recent DND housing presentation estimated that Esquimalt needs about twice the units it has. New units are coming, including 120 apartments at Work Point and Naden and a 37-unit building in View Royal that DND bought in 2025, plus new single quarters at Naden, but the base's welcome package still warns that waits can exceed a year. For members posted for several years, buying is often simpler and builds equity.
Relocating Under the CAF Relocation Directive
Postings since April 1, 2026 fall under the Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive (CAFRD), which replaced the old Integrated Relocation Program, and relocation services are delivered by SIRVA Canada under a federal contract that runs to 2032. In broad terms, the directive covers these home sale and purchase costs:
- Selling: real estate commission up to the pre-negotiated corporate rates, legal fees, and a mortgage prepayment penalty of up to three months' interest or $5,000 from the Core Account.
- Buying: legal fees and disbursements including BC's property transfer tax, a home inspection, the mortgage default insurance premium and a mortgage interest differential of up to $5,000. Purchase benefits apply to postings of more than a year.
- Home Equity Assistance: if you sell your old home at a loss, the Core Account pays 80% of the loss up to $30,000.
- House Hunting Trip: up to five days at the new location, not counting travel, for you and your spouse, with up to four more days of leave.
Two practical points matter when you buy or sell. First, tell every real estate agent, lawyer or inspector you hire that you are moving under the CAFRD and go through SIRVA, because costs above the directive's ceiling rates can otherwise come out of your own pocket. Second, the sale or purchase has to close within the directive's window, generally no more than a year before or two years after your change of strength. Read the relocation directive itself and confirm your entitlements with SIRVA before you sign anything. The mortgage insurance premium the directive covers is explained in our guide to mortgage default insurance.
The Canadian Forces Housing Differential in Esquimalt
The Post Living Differential has been replaced by the Canadian Forces Housing Differential (CFHD), a monthly allowance that depends on your location and pay level. The transitional rates ended on June 30, 2026. From July 1, 2026, the monthly CFHD for Esquimalt is:
| Pay level | Monthly CFHD | Pay level | Monthly CFHD |
|---|
| 1 (up to $4,337 a month) | $1,875 | 9 | $400 |
| 2 ($4,338 to $6,369) | $1,525 | 10 | $350 |
| 3 ($6,370 to $7,499) | $1,025 | 11 | $275 |
| 4 | $750 | 12 | $225 |
| 5 | $650 | 13 | $175 |
| 6 | $575 | 14 | $100 |
| 7 | $500 | 15 | $50 |
| 8 | $450 | 16 to 20 | $0 |
Most rates went down from the 2025 levels, so check the current CFHD table on the Department of National Defence website rather than an older welcome package, and do not count on the allowance when you qualify for a mortgage unless your lender agrees to include it.
Neighbourhoods Near the Base
Esquimalt is the base's home municipality, a compact township of about seven square kilometres with older houses on Saxe Point, West Bay and Old Esquimalt streets, 1970s and 1980s condo buildings, and a wave of new condos along Esquimalt Road and Lampson Street. View Royal, across Esquimalt Harbour and up the Island Highway, adds family houses in Six Mile and Thetis Heights, townhomes in Glentana and condos near the hospital. On the Colwood side, homes around Belmont Park, Colwood Corners and the Lagoon are close to the jetties and diving unit. The circle also touches the Gorge in Saanich and the west end of Vic West. Explore Esquimalt, View Royal and Colwood for more.
Houses, Condos and Townhomes
About half the listings near the base are condos, with a median asking price of about $547,000 and nearly half in buildings finished since 2024. Of the 114 condos listed on November 1, 2026, 101 were listed with unrestricted rentals and 102 as accepting dogs, which matters when a posting ends and you want to rent the home out rather than sell. Houses near the base had a median asking price of about $1.24 million, and almost half were built before 1960, so inspections matter. Townhomes had a median around $735,000. See houses near CFB Esquimalt, condos near CFB Esquimalt and townhomes near CFB Esquimalt.
Esquimalt, View Royal or the West Shore?
Living in Esquimalt or View Royal means a short walk, bike ride or bus trip to Dockyard and Naden, and less time on the road when you are on duty early or late. Langford and Colwood offer more new houses and townhomes, often with suites, for similar money: on November 1, 2026 the median asking price for a Langford house was about $1.26 million and for a townhome about $730,000, against about $1.24 million and $735,000 near the base. The trade-off is the commute around the harbour on the Island Highway and Admirals Road at rush hour. If you expect to work on the Colwood side, the West Shore looks better still. Compare Langford and Colwood.
Getting to Work
The paved E&N Rail Trail runs 13.5 km from Esquimalt Road to Langford, with an access point at Admirals Road and Colville Road beside Naden, and it links with the Galloping Goose for riders coming from the West Shore. BC Transit runs the weekday 46 Dockyard/Westhills route from Langford and Colwood, the 26 and the 40, added in January 2026, between UVic and Dockyard, the 15 Esquimalt/UVic, and the 43 to Royal Roads via Belmont Park. Inside the fence, Dockyard and Naden connect through the Y Jetty Gate.
Schools and Family Support
Schools near the base include Esquimalt High on Colville Road, Rockheights Middle, École Macaulay Elementary with English and French Immersion, and Craigflower, Victoria West and View Royal elementary schools in the Greater Victoria School District. École Victor-Brodeur on Head Street is a kindergarten to Grade 12 francophone school of the Conseil scolaire francophone, useful for francophone families and those arriving from postings in Quebec. On the Colwood side, École John Stubbs Memorial in the Sooke School District is close to Belmont Park and keeps a military family resources page. The Esquimalt Military Family Resource Centre runs child care, relocation and deployment support from its centre at 2610 Rosebank Road in Colwood, and a new Work Point centre on Anson Street was expected to open in late fall 2026. See homes in the Esquimalt High catchment.
Questions Buyers Ask
How close to the base are the homes on this page?
Every listing is within about 3.5 kilometres of HMC Dockyard. That takes in all of Esquimalt, including the streets around Naden and Work Point, the southern half of View Royal, the Colwood side of Esquimalt Harbour around Belmont Park and the Lagoon, and the edges of Vic West and the Gorge.
Can I get military housing instead of buying?
The Canadian Forces Housing Agency has roughly 700 residential housing units within 25 km of the base, in Esquimalt, Colwood and Metchosin, and you can join the waitlist 60 days before your change of strength date. The base's own welcome package warns that waits can exceed a year, so many members rent or buy.
Does the relocation directive pay my real estate commission?
On the sale of your old home, the CAF Relocation Directive reimburses commission up to the pre-negotiated corporate rates, as long as you tell the agent you are moving under the directive and go through SIRVA. On the purchase side, it covers legal fees, property transfer tax, an inspection and the mortgage default insurance premium, among other costs.
Where do most military families live?
Esquimalt and View Royal put you minutes from Dockyard and Naden. Colwood and Langford offer newer homes for similar money and are closer to the Colwood side of the base, where the future submarine fleet is expected to be based, but the drive to Dockyard is longer at rush hour.
Photo credits: aerial view of warships at CFB Esquimalt by Duke, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
