Canadians gathered at cenotaphs and memorials across the country on Wednesday to mark Remembrance Day, honouring those who served and died in the country's wars and peacekeeping missions. This year's ceremonies also mark 25 years since Canadian forces began operations in Afghanistan, a conflict in which roughly 40,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces served and 159 were killed.

The national ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa included three Second World War veterans. Prime Minister Mark Carney, Governor General Louise Arbour and other dignitaries laid wreaths, while CF-18 fighter jets and a Black Hawk helicopter conducted flypasts overhead. This year's Silver Cross Mother, Virginia Hicks of Trenton, Ontario, laid a wreath on behalf of mothers who have lost a child in military service.

Separate ceremony at CFB Wainwright

The ceremonies come weeks after a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright during a training exercise killed four soldiers and injured 39 others. Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding, Private Hayden Lykkemark and Sergeant Morgan Wong died in the blaze on 17 October. A separate ceremony was held at the base on Wednesday, attended by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre alongside military members, veterans and other dignitaries. Mr Carney has described the fire as one of the worst tragedies for the Armed Forces on Canadian soil during peacetime.

Afghanistan was Canada's longest mission

The Afghanistan mission was Canada's longest and its largest deployment of troops since the Second World War, and many of the names read at cenotaphs this week belong to soldiers who served there. In his Veterans' Week statement earlier this month, Mr Carney noted that more than 2.3 million Canadians have served since Confederation. The two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. local time remains the central act of the day across the country. Remembrance Day is a paid statutory holiday in several provinces and for federally regulated workers, but not in Ontario. Mr Carney leaves on Wednesday on a multi-country trip to Ireland and Asia aimed at trade and security talks.