Established in 1965 as a residential college on the site of the former navy base located at
Point Edward along the western shore of Sydney Harbour, CCG Academy's first mandate was to train young men in 4-year diplomas of Marine Engineering or Marine Navigation for the Coast Guard's Officer Training Program. The Officer Training Program expanded in 1973 to include women. In 1981, CCG Academy moved from its location on the former Point Edward naval base to an adjacent custom-built 120 acre (486,000 m²) campus in neighbouring
Westmount. The campus, designed by Nova Scotia Architect
Keith L. Graham is located in a wooded area immediately south of Point Edward and adjacent to Petersfield Provincial Park. It consists of a variety of interlinked residential, training, administration, and health/fitness facilities. CCG Academy also has simulators for depicting the navigation of vessels in a variety of scenarios, dry-land mock-ups of vessel engine rooms, and a simulator for a rescue coordination centre (RCC). CCG Academy has a small fleet of training vessels ranging from sail boats and rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) and one motor life boat - all housed in a custom-built boathouse on the Academy's waterfront along a small cove. From the 1980s to the 2000s (decade), the academy expanded its training programs to include customized marine training for students from
Commonwealth Caribbean nations, as well as other federal government agencies such as the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police,
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the
Department of Transport. In 1995, the 4 year Officer Training Program was granted degree accreditation through an agreement with the University College of Cape Breton, since renamed
Cape Breton University. Following completion of the Officer Training program, graduates now receive a Bachelor of Technology (Nautical Science or nautical engineering) from CBU. ==Training programs==