Canada marked Remembrance Day on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, with ceremonies at cenotaphs and memorials across the country, 25 years after Canadian forces began operations in Afghanistan. The national ceremony in Ottawa honoured those who served and died in Canada's wars and peacekeeping missions, and it carried fresh sorrow after a training fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright killed four soldiers last month.

Roughly 40,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces served in Afghanistan, and 159 were killed, according to RL News. The mission was Canada's longest, and its largest deployment of troops since the Second World War.

A ceremony shaped by Afghanistan

The Afghanistan anniversary gave this year's services added weight. Many of the names read aloud at cenotaphs this week belong to soldiers who served in that mission, and the two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. local time remained the central act of the day across the country. In his Veterans' Week statement earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney noted that more than 2.3 million Canadians have served since Confederation, including in the Persian Gulf.

Remembrance Day is a paid statutory holiday in several provinces and for federally regulated workers, but not in Ontario. Even so, ceremonies took place across Ontario and the rest of the country, organised in most communities by Royal Canadian Legion branches.

Ottawa ceremony: wreaths, flypasts and silence

The national ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa began at about 10:30 a.m. and included three Second World War veterans. Prime Minister Mark Carney, Governor General Louise Arbour and other dignitaries laid wreaths, and this year's Silver Cross Mother, Virginia Hicks, laid a wreath on behalf of mothers who lost a child in military service.

CF-18 fighter jets and a Black Hawk helicopter conducted flypasts over the memorial, with Griffon, Chinook and Cormorant helicopters and other Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft flying over local ceremonies elsewhere. Ottawa Times reported a 21-gun salute at about 11 a.m., four CF-18 Hornets at about 11:05 a.m. and a Black Hawk at about 11:30 a.m., flying as low as 300 feet.

At the Canadian War Museum, Memorial Hall is built around the original headstone of Canada's Unknown Soldier, and a single window is lined up so that at exactly 11 a.m. on 11 November sunlight pours through it and frames the headstone. Flags at Ottawa city facilities were lowered to half-mast from sunrise to sunset, and Indigenous Veterans Day had been observed on Sunday, 8 November. Veterans Affairs Canada lists the Royal Canadian Legion's national ceremony at the National War Memorial from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Wainwright fire casts a shadow

The ceremonies came 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, and many of the injured remain in hospital.

A separate ceremony was held at CFB Wainwright on Remembrance Day, attended by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre along with military members, veterans and other dignitaries. Carney has described the fire as one of the worst tragedies for the Armed Forces on Canadian soil during peacetime, and he said this year's remembrance carries a new sorrow because of the Wainwright deaths. Poilievre has also paid tribute to the four soldiers and visited the base shortly after the fire, speaking about the bravery of those who ran into the flames to pull others to safety.

Carney left on Wednesday on a multi-country trip to Ireland and Asia aimed at trade and security talks, with the national ceremony in Ottawa proceeding with other federal representatives present.

Frequently asked questions

When is Remembrance Day in Canada? Remembrance Day is held every year on 11 November, the date the Armistice took effect in 1918, with two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. local time.

Why is Remembrance Day 2026 significant in Canada? This year marks 25 years since Canadian forces began operations in Afghanistan, a mission in which roughly 40,000 Canadians served and 159 were killed.

Who were the four soldiers killed at CFB Wainwright? Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding, Private Hayden Lykkemark and Sergeant Morgan Wong died in a training fire on 17 October 2026, which also injured 39 others.