The spring of 1940 brought about a large number of Canadian Army units going through Halifax to England. This required an increase in staging facilities for training and marshalling combat units before embarkation.

Existing base facilities at Camp Aldershot near Kentville, Nova Scotia and Camp Sussex near Sussex, New Brunswick were upgraded to handle the requirements of housing and training brigade-sized units. In 1940, additional land in Debert was acquired for a division-size training and marshalling facility adjacent to lands purchased in 1938 for a RCAF aerodrome. Debert was considered ideal as it was a flat plain with railroad access and was only 100 km north of Halifax.

On August 9, 1940, the 6th Field Company Canadian Engineers arrived at the site and began work on the Debert Military Camp. The engineers cleared the trees before building streets, sewer and water services, electricity, and buildings over an area of 80 km2 (31 sq mi).  

Camp Debert was the final staging area for Canadian units going to Europe. Component units arrived at Camp Debert and were organized into larger formations before being carried by trains to troopships at Halifax, usually at night in black-out conditions.

Camp Debert was used in the repatriation of troops returning from war before being decommissioned. It was put back in use in the 1950s and a Regional Emergency Government Headquarters was maintained on the site until 1996. One of the H-huts has been preserved as a military museum.