The 143rd (B.C. Bantams) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, the unit began recruiting in 1916 throughout Western Canada. Bantam units were organized to recruit men who were shorter than the standard 5-foot-4-inch (163 cm) height required for joining the army. By the time they were fully formed, however, only about half of the men were under that standard height as they could not find enough short men to enlist.