Lieutenant-Colonel Meighen returned from overseas command of the 14th Battalion in June 1915 and announced in September that permission finally had been given to raise an overseas battalion of the regiment, the 87th Battalion CEF. Active recruiting began on 23 October, and in seven weeks the battalion was raised and ready for its winter training in barracks at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. The battalion was unique in that recruiting had occurred not only in Montreal but in every province of Canada (rather than the restricted area allocated to other CEF Battalions) - it was a thoroughly representative "Canadian" unit.