Canadians will gather at cenotaphs and monuments across the country today to remember and pay their respects to those who fought and died in service of Canada.
This year will mark a full return to normalcy, including at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, after COVID-19 forced various changes to remembrance ceremonies over the past two years.
Masks and social distancing are no longer required, and the traditional veterans’ parade will return to the national ceremony, which starts at around 10:30 a.m. eastern time and will run about an hour.
- Remembrance Day: Live updates from the national ceremony in Ottawa
Dignitaries at the national ceremony will include Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, who is Canada’s commander-in-chief, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be absent as he flies to an international summit in Cambodia.
The government will instead be represented in Ottawa by Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay.
The return of the veterans’ parade and Trudeau’s absence won’t be the only noticeable difference between this year’s national Remembrance Day ceremony and recent iterations.
The Legion also plans to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth and the 80th anniversary of the raid on Dieppe.
A special wreath dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne, will be laid at the foot of the National War Memorial before the ceremony begins.
The ceremony will also feature a special Red Ensign flag that was reportedly carried by one of the nearly 5,000 Canadian soldiers who participated in the ill-fated raid on the French port of Dieppe on Aug. 19, 1942. The flag was later donated to the Royal Canadian Legion.
This year’s ceremony follows several demonstrations and rallies at the National War Memorial since the “Freedom Convoy” in February, when thousands of protesters opposed to vaccines, pandemic restrictions and the Liberal government congregated in Ottawa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2022.
