Although there had been temporary volunteer artillery units formed in Montreal as early as 1828, the regiment has its origin in the 3rd Montreal Battery formed in 1855 as a result of the departure of British regular troops for the Crimean War and the passage of the Militia Act of 1855. Militia forces, including the five field batteries formed, would for the first time be maintained at public expense. In 1856 the Battalion of Montreal Artillery was formed and in 1895 it was renamed the 2nd "Montreal" Regiment, CA.