You are not necessarily 'required' to live on base, depends on your situation. A couple of people on my course were living off base, but they were both MARS, and hence were going to be spending a lot of time there. If you are an engineer you will only be there for the course and then back to Halifax, so you probably will have to live on base. Take heart though, Kingsmill building is very new, and quite nice. Netpo is also one of the easiest courses you will ever do, so it should be fairly enjoyable no matter what.
Best of luck!
Also, for CSE training, there is no such thing as living on base in Halifax, you will be required to find your own place to live in the city, and enjoy the benefits of PLD.