Before the creation of Remembrance Day, some Canadians honoured Paardeberg Day every February 27. Paardeberg Day honoured Canadian soldiers who fought at the Battle of Paardeberg in South Africa during the Boer War (1899-1902). Veterans celebrated by having dinners or dances. They also took time to remember soldiers who died during that battle.

World War I affected many Canadian families. Over 650,000 Canadians fought in the war and over 238,000 were hurt or killed. After the war, Canadians wanted to remember family members and friends who served overseas. During the 1920s, families observed Armistice Day on a Monday in early November. Veterans and their families usually gathered privately around memorials or soldiers’ graves and paid their respects to those who died fighting in the war.

Public Remembrance Day ceremonies became more common in the 1930s. In 1931, Canada declared November 11 as Remembrance Day. After World War II, Remembrance Day became a day to remember those who served in World War I or World War II.

Remembrance Day is now a day to honour both veterans and current members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Every year, on November 11, Canadians hold Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Courage

Stephen Thomas was born in Scarborough, Ontario. In 2000, he joined the 7^th Toronto Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. In 2003, he went on his first tour of Afghanistan and in 2005, he joined the Queen’s Own Rifles. On October 3, 2006, during his second tour of Afghanistan, he was travelling in a convoy of vehicles in Kandahar. Suddenly, a vehicle in his convoy was attacked and caught on fire. The vehicle was full of highly explosive ammunition and important cargo. Risking his own life, he and three other soldiers quickly began unloading the ammunition and cargo. Soon after moving away, the fire engulfed the vehicle, causing an explosion. Thomas’ actions helped prevent a much larger disaster and saved the lives of many soldiers and civilians. For his brave actions, he was awarded the Medal of Bravery.

Resilience

Robert and Tommy Wong were brothers in a family of 12 children. Born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, they moved to Vancouver before finally settling in Toronto.

Robert wanted to be a pilot from a very young age. At only 19, Robert flew his own plane that he and Tommy built together. When World War II started, Chinese Canadians were not allowed to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). This did not stop them from serving their country.

While Robert was studying maintenance engineering at Parks Air College in Illinois, he was called back to Canada and missed his graduation ceremony. He served in the British Commonwealth Air Training Program as a civilian flight engineer and a test pilot for the RCAF. As the war went on, the rules around Chinese Canadian enlistment changed, and Tommy was able to become an air force pilot. After the war, the brothers opened a flying school in Toronto. It became the largest flying school in Canada, training over 8,000 pilots. Considered leaders in Canadian aviation, they helped set training and safety standards for pilots. In 2024, Robert and Tommy were inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.

Leadership

Born in Wendake, Quebec, Lieutenant-General Jocelyn Paul is a member of the Huron-Wendat First Nation. He joined the army as a reservist in 1988 and transitioned to the regular army as a member of the Royal 22e Régiment in 1991. In 1993, he acted as platoon leader during a peacekeeping mission to Croatia. In 2011, he received the Meritorious Service Cross for his work as a battle group commander in Afghanistan. His award said: “His superb command of his unit ensured its success, advanced international efforts in Afghanistan, and brought great credit to Canada and to the Canadian Forces.” In 2022, he became the first Indigenous officer to become the Commander of the Canadian Army. Before retiring in 2024, he was the highest-ranking Indigenous member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Integrity

Marguerite “Peggy” Downes was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in 1939. After high school, she signed up as a driver in the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps in Halifax. In 1956, she moved to Toronto and joined the reserve forces. Through hard work and determination, she became a Major and one of the highest-ranking Black women in Canada. During her 45 years in the reserves, she held many positions, including Deputy Commander of the 709 Toronto Communications Regiment and the Administrative Officer with the Queen’s York Rangers Army Cadets.

She was an Honorary Aide-de-Camp for five of Ontario’s Lieutenant Governors and was the first Black woman to hold this position. In 1988, she received the Order of Military Merit and was involved with many community organizations, including the Voices of Joy choir. She believed in the importance of helping others and was a mentor to many individuals. A woman of strong beliefs, she believed that you should “try to do what you can, set your goals… and never have a defeatist attitude.”

Compassion

Jessie Chenevert (Urquhart) was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1922. After volunteering with the Red Cross, she trained as a nurse in Brockville. During the Korean War, her brother, Bob, went overseas. She became worried about Bob and wanted to keep an eye on him, so she signed up for the Royal Canadian Medical Corps.

Although she and her brother ended up serving at different times, she travelled to Asia in 1953 and became one of only 60 Canadian women to serve overseas during the Korean War. She served in Japan and Korea at the 25 Field Dressing Station caring for sick and hurt members of the Armed Forces. After the war, she stayed in the military and became the Director of Nursing at the National Defense Medical Centre.