Sam Hughes (1853-1921) served as Canada's Minister of Militia and Defence from 1911 until his dismissal at the hands of Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden in 1916. In October 1911 Hughes was appointed to a political post as Minister of Militia and Defence in spite of being especially unpopular with many French Canadians. Hughes was a committed nationalist-imperialist and was determined to establish a more prominent role for Canadian forces within the British Empire. The outbreak of war in August 1914 prompted Hughes to co-ordinate the recruitment of Canadian troops for despatch to the battlefields of the Western Front. Hughes oversaw the construction of a training facility, Camp Valcartier, in under three weeks, followed later by additional camps. Within a matter of weeks the first Canadian forces were ready to go to Europe from Quebec.