Key Takeaways
- Prime Minister Mark Carney named the four soldiers killed in the CFB Wainwright training fire in his Remembrance Day statement.
- The national ceremony at Ottawa's National War Memorial marked the 95th anniversary of Remembrance Day in Canada.
- Governor General Louise Arbour laid the first wreath; Silver Cross Mother Virginia Hicks laid the wreath for the Mothers of Canada.
"Lest We Forget": Canada Pauses for Its 95th Remembrance Day
At 11 a.m., after the Last Post sounded over the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Canada fell silent — two minutes for the generations who served, and this year, for four young soldiers who never left training.
In his Remembrance Day statement, Prime Minister Mark Carney honoured "the generations of women and men who answered the call" — those who spent years away from loved ones, those who returned forever changed, and those who never came home. He then named the four soldiers killed in the fire at CFB Wainwright: Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding, and Private Hayden Lykkemark — "four Canadian soldiers who lost their lives while training to serve our country."
"With their bright futures still before them, they chose to safeguard ours," the Prime Minister said, adding that Canada mourns their loss and stands with those still recovering from their injuries.
The ceremony at the National War Memorial
The national ceremony, organized by the Royal Canadian Legion, began at 10:30 a.m. at the memorial on Wellington Street. Governor General Louise Arbour laid the first wreath on behalf of the People of Canada, followed by the National Silver Cross Mother, Virginia Hicks, laying the wreath for the Mothers of Canada, and the Prime Minister for the Government of Canada. The service included the Last Post, the two minutes of silence at 11, the Lament, the Act of Remembrance and a 21-gun salute.
A joint statement from the ministers of Veterans Affairs, National Defence and Public Safety marked the day as the 95th anniversary of Remembrance Day in Canada, and also remembered the Wainwright dead.
In an increasingly dangerous and divided world, the Prime Minister wrote, rights and freedoms "do not defend themselves. They are earned every single day." "Our remembrance is more than an expression of gratitude. It is an act of vigilance and determination."
The Twikup Take
Remembrance Day statements are usually timeless. This one wasn't — it carried four new names, all lost in training on Canadian soil. That is the weight of this year's ceremony: the sacrifice Canada honours on November 11 is not only history. Sometimes it is this autumn's news, and the families are still in the first weeks of grief.
Image: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Confederation Square in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, immediately following the Remembrance Day ceremonies on November 11, 2006. Since its installation, it has become traditional to place poppies on the Tomb after the formal ceremony has concluded. Photo by Mikkel Paulson, public domain.