Vancouver Remembrance Day ceremony reflects on D-Day anniversary
Thousands of people gathered in downtown Vancouver Monday to observe the 100th Remembrance day ceremony at the Victory Square cenotaph, paying their respects to the Canadian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
This year’s somber service reflected on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, in the largest seaborne invasion in history.
Some 21,000 Canadian soldiers were involved in the initial attack, and 381 were killed in action that day.
“For most of those young Canadians, it was their first time in battle,” said Jim Stanton, co-director of ceremonies. “We will not forget those volunteer citizen soldiers who fought bravely for peace.”
By the end of the Battle of Normandy, the Canadian death toll exceeded 5,000.
Vancouver’s Remembrance Day ceremony has been observed at Victory Square since 1924, without interruption, making it the oldest annual ceremony in the city.
Officials estimate upwards of 15,000 people attend each year, rain or shine.
Co-director Doug Poitras noted that veterans of the Second World War and Korean War were among those in attendance Monday, including 101-year-old Percy J. Smith, who served in the British Merchant Navy from 1942 to 1946.
Fewer than 5,000 of the approximately one million Canadians who served in those two wars are still with us, Poitras said.
“We proudly wear our poppies to keep their memory alive,” said Poitras. “Thanks for all you have done.”
This year’s ceremony also recognized the 10th anniversary of the Oct. 22, 2014 shooting on Parliament Hill, which killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a soldier and reservist on ceremonial sentry duty, and injured three others.
The service featured several performances, including by Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs and the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services band.
The sorrowful sound of bugle call The Last Post was followed by a two-minute silence and 21-gun salute at 11 a.m.
“We can all reflect on the loss of loved ones and friends – in battle or at home from injury – and hope for peace in the future,” Stanton said.
Kari Wang, a Grade 6 student from H.T. Thrift Elementary, was this year’s winner of the Cam Cathcart Youth Poem of Remembrance award, and performed her original poem, “The Colour of Remembrance”:
If remembrance was a colour,
It would be red and white.
The colour of the Canadian flag.
If remembrance was a sound,
It would be people’s heartbeats,
The worried heartbeats of the soldiers
and the families that are waiting
for them to come home.
If remembrance was a smell,
It would be a comforting smell from home.
The cozy place that was always
welcoming to you.
If remembrance was a feeling,
It would be hopeful.
The hope of warm hugs and good friends
when you return.
If remembrance was a taste,
It would be bitter,
The bitterness of coffee without cream,
Like a family that has been split apart.
If remembrance was a place,
It would be a cenotaph.
Where names of long-ago heroes are written
on the stone for people to remember.
If remembrance has a purpose,
It is to recognize and remember all
the people that have participated in wars.
So that we could have peace and freedom.
The poetry award was created by its namesake – who served as Vancouver’s director of ceremonies for 18 years before his death in 2021 – to engage young people in Remembrance Day.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Statistics Canada set to release October inflation figures today
Statistics Canada is expected to release its October consumer price index report this morning.
Organic carrots recalled in Canada due to E. Coli
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has posted a recall for both baby and whole organic carrot brands sold at multiple grocery stores due to E. coli contamination.
Forecasters issue 'bomb cyclone' warning for B.C., with 120 km/h winds predicted
An Environment Canada meteorologist says a so-called 'bomb cyclone' is expected to bring powerful winds to Vancouver Island and the British Columbia coast this week.
Tories call on Boissonnault to resign amid apology over Indigenous ancestry claims
Members of Parliament returned to Ottawa on Monday after a weeklong break with no sign of a resolution to the House stalemate, tempers ramped back up, and renewed calls for a Liberal cabinet minister to resign — or be fired.
Toronto author Anne Michaels wins Giller Prize for novel 'Held'
Toronto poet-novelist Anne Michaels appealed for 'unity' in Canada's arts community on Monday night as she accepted the Giller Prize, an award boycotted by several prominent Canadian authors over its sponsors' ties to Israel.
Canada's rising youth unemployment could cost the country billions, report says
The unemployment rate for Canadians between 18 and 24 was 12.8 per cent in October, according to Statistics Canada, more than double the rate of those older than 25.
Trudeau to attend second day of G20 summit, return to Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is attending the final day of the G20 summit in Brazil.
B.C. RCMP detachment refutes social media claims of human trafficking, kidnapping
Mounties in B.C.'s Sea to Sky region say there is "no credible evidence" to support claims circulating on social media that a human trafficking ring is operating in Squamish or that there have been kidnappings in the community.
Men from Ontario, B.C. charged in 'mistaken identity' shooting, RCMP say
Two men from Ontario and British Columbia have been charged in connection with a 2022 shooting that left an innocent victim seriously wounded.