Canadians marked Remembrance Day across the country, including ceremonies in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and St. John’s, with leaders and dignitaries paying tribute to those who served.
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In Ottawa, Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour released a Remembrance Day message urging all Canadians to reflect on the courage and dedication of Canada Armed Forces members and the sacrifices made by their families and communities, and said the Wainwright fire is a reminder that those who serve “accepts risk on behalf of others” and are supported by loved ones.
People began gathering along the fence line at the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa at about 8:30 a.m., ahead of the observance at the National War Memorial near Parliament.
The national ceremony included a two-minute moment of silence at 11 a.m., as military bands and veterans marched to the National War Memorial and thousands lined the streets to watch.
Ahead of the moment of silence, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox arrived at the National War Memorial at 10:45 a.m., with Carney shaking hands with assembled dignitaries including Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan.
At 10:52 a.m., Arbour arrived at the national ceremony for her first as commander-in-chief, wearing a uniform. Virginia Hicks, the Silver Cross mother, arrived at 10:50 a.m. to lay a wreath on behalf of all mothers who have lost children in military service; her daughter, Sapper Mariebeth Short, was killed in a training exercise on Sept. 23, 2002, in Petawawa, Ont.
The laying of wreaths began after 11:10 a.m., with a prayer for the Wainwright victims read out as cannon fire rolled over Montreal during the Remembrance Day ceremony, and more dignitaries continued laying wreaths at the cenotaph.
Carney, Arbour and other dignitaries also took part in the national wreath-laying sequence, with Arbour laying the first wreath at 11:11 a.m. on behalf of “the people of Canada,” followed by Hicks laying one on behalf of “the mothers of Canada.”
At 11:40 a.m., the Governor General and Prime Minister greeted veterans and other dignitaries as the national Remembrance Day ceremony came to a close, with Carney shaking hands with U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and exchanging brief remarks.
In Ottawa, Rabbi Idan Scher said during the national ceremony that Wainwright exemplified the military spirit of stepping up to serve in the wake of the deadly fire by asking “how can I help?” and he said, “Today, we remember those who never came home.”
The Remembrance Day observances took place with recent and longer-term context in view, including that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the start of the Afghanistan war and that Veterans Affairs Canada said 158 Canadian Armed Forces members and seven Canadian civilians — including a diplomat, four aid workers, a government contractor and a journalist — lost their lives while in Afghanistan.
The ceremonies also came weeks after the fire at Canadian Armed Forces Base Wainwright, where four soldiers were killed and dozens were injured when a wildfire overtook a training exercise; those killed were identified as Sgt. Morgan Wong, Pte. Shaun Farrell, Pte. Aidan Goulding and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark.
Elsewhere, in Toronto, Brig.-Gen. Éric Landry, who has served in Afghanistan, told a Remembrance Day ceremony outside Queen’s Park that Canada is a country worth defending, and after the bell struck 11 on Old City Hall, Rev. Levi Samson Beardy read the act of remembrance in Ojibwe, saying, “Let us look to the future that there may be peace.”
In Montreal, a Remembrance Day procession arrived at the National War Memorial at Place du Canada at 10:40 a.m., where about a hundred people gathered, and wreaths were laid on the ground on behalf of organizations including one honouring the victims of Wainwright.
In St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, a Remembrance Day procession arrived at the National War Memorial in the capital at 9:10 a.m., where hundreds gathered despite rain in preparation for the two minutes of silence.
In Alberta, extra attention was drawn to Remembrance Day in Wainwright following the base fire, and by 12:10 p.m. at least 2,000 people had lined a street in downtown St. Albert to pay their respects at a Remembrance Day service that included members of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, cadets and RCMP officers.
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