Canadians paused at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Nov. 11, 2026, to remember those who served and died, with ceremonies also focused on the recent deaths of four soldiers from CFB Wainwright.
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Canadians observed a moment of silence at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Wednesday to remember those who served and died defending the country, as guns boomed, bagpipes played and CF-18 Hornets flew overhead.
The Remembrance Day ceremonies came weeks after a deadly training incident at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright that killed four soldiers and injured dozens of others when strong winds swept a grass fire across an automatic grenade launcher range.
Sgt. Morgan Wong of Edmonton, Pte. Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert, Sask., Pte. Aidan Goulding of North Vancouver and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark of Langley, B.C., were among those killed during the training event.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a media statement, “We mourn their loss, stand with those recovering from their injuries, and hold their families and fellow service members in our thoughts.” Governor General Louise Arbour said Canadians’ thoughts “remain with the soldiers we lost, those who were wounded, as well as the families, friends, comrades and all others affected by this tragic event.”
National Defence said that as of Nov. 4, 14 of the 39 injured had been released from hospital and another 25 remained in hospital.
Remembrance Day observances took place across the country, including a prayer read at the Place du Canada ceremony in Montreal as cannon fire rang out, and remarks from Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow wishing the injured “strength and healing.”
In Washington, D.C., Rear-Admiral Kristjan Monaghan spoke at the Canadian Embassy about the deaths in Alberta, saying, “The loss experienced there has been felt across the Canadian Forces family, across the nation and beyond,” and that the deaths “reminds us that sacrifice is not defined solely by geography.”
The day also marked the 25th anniversary of the start of the Afghanistan war, which lasted more than 12 years, involved some 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members, and left 158 Canadian Armed Forces members and seven Canadian civilians dead, according to Veterans Affairs Canada.
A retired Royal Canadian Navy commander Ian Moffat said he was thinking of a young armoured soldier killed by an improvised explosive device while he was in Afghanistan, and said, “If you saw her picture, you’d swear she wasn’t any older than 17.”
Ray McGill of Courtice, Ont., attended the Ottawa ceremony after his son marched in his first Remembrance Day parade following enlistment, saying, “It’s a pretty powerful day and gives us an opportunity to come out and pay tribute to those who can’t be here today,” and adding, “Those guys gave their todays for our tomorrows.”
Kyle Scott, a Canadian Army veteran of the Afghanistan war, said he was thinking of comrades who never made it home and of those who died after returning, adding that “life after service is often harder than when you are serving.”
Second World War veteran Marcel Huot, who said he was wounded twice in Normandy, described recalling a heavy barrage of artillery fire and live fire directed at him, and said his thoughts were of his wife, who “died of Alzheimer's” and that he sometimes feels “lonely.”
Veterans Affairs estimates that the population of living Canadian veterans from the Second World War and the Korean War has dropped to approximately 4,306 people. The year also marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Canadian Legion and the 150th anniversary of the Royal Military College, with hundreds of cadets attending the national ceremony in Ottawa.
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