Standing solemnly on the grounds of a military burial site at Fort York, hundreds of Torontonians gathered Wednesday morning to commemorate Remembrance Day.
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hundreds → stand → Day
After hearing a performance of “The Last Post,” the crowd of active service members, schoolchildren, fire and paramedic workers and others from the community fell silent at exactly 11 a.m. to pay tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers.
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crowd → hear → soldiers
Observed on Nov. 11, the anniversary of the armistice agreement in 1918 that ended the First World War, the day is an opportunity to recognize the service of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in times of war, conflict and peace.
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day → observe → war
Remembrance Day also recognizes the contributions made by Canadian soldiers who served in the Second World War, the Korean War, the war in Afghanistan as well as the nation’s many peacekeeping missions.
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who → recognize → Afghanistan
Following opening remarks in Indigenous languages, Rev. Jan Hieminga took to the podium to perform prayers and share his family’s connection to war as a young child in the Netherlands when the Second World War broke out.
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War → follow → Netherlands
“They were looking for my dad to take him to Germany,” Hieminga said.
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Hieminga → look → Germany
“We went into hiding, hiding at the farm of my grandfather, a place where the underground people could stay and be safe.”
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people → go → grandfather
The Nazis later found Hieminga’s grandfather, taking him from several prisons until he ended up in a concentration camp in Germany.
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he → find → Germany
“Let us pray for the safety of those who served in the Canadian Armed Forces … for all those who suffer as a result of war,” Hieminga said.
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Hieminga → let → war
Under the watch of onlookers donning red poppies as a piano was gently played in the background, people at the Fort York national historic site placed wreaths with flowers and bows in front of the Canadian flag.
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people → don → flag
Kayvon Lowe, 18, a member of the Toronto Youth Cabinet and student at Humber College, was one of the people who put down a wreath.
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who → put → wreath
Previously a member of the air cadets, a program for youth run in partnership with the Canadian Armed Forces to learn about military traditions and build practical skills, Lowe attended the ceremony to learn.
“We’re the next generation, so it’s important to show respect … it’s our real history, and that matters,” Lowe said.
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Lowe → run → respect
This year marks 25 years since the start of the Afghanistan war.
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year → mark → war
The conflict saw the largest deployment of Canadian troops since the Second World War, with 40,000 CAF members, including 159 who lost their lives.
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who → see → lives
2026 is also the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion, founded to create a national advocacy group for veterans’ benefits, and the 150th anniversary of the Royal Military College.
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2026 → found → College
Earlier in the day, veterans, service members and residents gathered at Prospect Cemetery for the 98th annual Remembrance Day Sunrise Service, which was started by the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Royal Canadian Legion.
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which → gather → Legion
With the beams of the sun coming through a background of trees in fall colours, people gathered to remember the fallen soldiers in the cemetery’s field of honour, an area established as a resting place for soldiers who died in the First World War.
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who → come → War
Against a backdrop of bagpipe playing, some laid down red poppies, the symbol of Remembrance Day.
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some → lay → Day
Preparing to lay the wreath at the ceremony at Toronto’s Old City Hall, retired Canadian Navy lieutenant John Anderson said he would be thinking about the people who were part of his “brotherhood” in service.
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who → prepare → service
“It honours the people who served to give us what we have today and the current people that are serving,” Anderson said.
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Anderson → honour → what
Honouring the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers and veterans at the Cenotaph, members of the public were joined by Mayor Olivia Chow, who also commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Legion during her remarks.
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who → honour → remarks
“The Legion shows us the city we can be.
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we → show → city
A city where no one carries the burden alone.
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one → carry → burden
A city where we take care of each other and stand up for each other,” she said.
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she → take → other
In Ottawa, people paused at the National War Memorial.
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people → pause → Memorial
This Remembrance Day comes just weeks after a deadly fire left four dead and dozens of other soldiers injured at the Canadian Forces Wainwright base in Alberta.
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dozens → come → Alberta
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney were among those attending the ceremony at the War Memorial in Ottawa.
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Carney → attend → Ottawa
In a statement earlier Wednesday, he paid tribute to the service members at Wainwright.
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he → pay → Wainwright
“With their bright futures still before them, they chose to safeguard ours,” Carney said.
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Carney → choose → ours
In Wainwright, Alta., hundreds gathered at an arena for a local ceremony in the small community around two hours outside of Edmonton.
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hundreds → gather → Edmonton
Veterans, military members and dignitaries attended, as well as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre whose riding includes the military base.
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riding → attend → base
Eighty-four soldiers from the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry were taking part in a training exercise when a windstorm sent flames from a grass fire onto the troops.
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windstorm → take → troops
Just outside of Edmonton, roughly 300 members of the same regiment marched at a Remembrance Day service in the community of St. Albert, Alta.
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members → march → Albert
The Aporia
