At the outbreak of World War I, when Canada was lacking regular military forces, the then-Captain Andrew Hamilton Gault raised the Patricias. Hamilton Gault offered $100,000 (around 2 million in 2006 Canadian Dollars) to finance and equip a battalion in order to participate in the Canadian war effort overseas. The government temporarily accepted his offer on August 6, 1914, and officially authorized it on August 10, 1914. The Department of Militia and Defence contributed to the equipment of the unit. The charter of the regiment was signed on August 10, and the Governor General of Canada, The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, approved the existence of the regiment.