Remembrance Day 2025: The Nation That Remembers

by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East As services across Canada prepare to mark Remembrance Day on November 11, 2025, we once again pause as a nation to remember — not only the wars fought and lives lost, but also the ideals for which those sacrifices were made. In an age when the world seems as turbulent as ever, remembrance is not a mere tradition; it is an act of unity, gratitude, and renewal. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, more than a century ago, the guns of the Great War finally fell silent. The armistice that ended the First World War ushered in a silence that was more profound than any words — a silence filled with the weight of loss, endurance, and hope. More than 625,000 Canadians had served; 61,082 never returned home, and another 154,000 came back wounded in body or in spirit. Those numbers, stark as they are, cannot convey the faces behind them — young men and women from farms, small towns, and city streets who answered the call to serve a country still defining itself. From the Fields of Europe to the Shores of Peacekeeping The legacy of service did not end in 1918. Canadians would again take up arms in the Second World War, standing firm against tyranny when freedom itself hung in the balance. They would serve in Korea, where Canadian soldiers fought in the bitter cold of the hills around Kapyong. They would wear the blue helmets of peacekeepers in Cyprus, Bosnia, and Rwanda. And they would deploy to Afghanistan, where over 40,000 Canadians served and 158 made the ultimate sacrifice. These stories — of courage, sacrifice, and endurance — have shaped our nation’s character. They have given us not only our freedoms but also our shared sense of duty and compassion. Yet as the years pass, the distance between us and those wars grows. The veterans of the Second World War are now few, their ranks thinning each year. That is why our remembrance must deepen, not fade. A Time for National Unity In 2025, the world faces new and uncertain challenges — wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the shadow of extremism, and the pressures of social division at home. At such a time, Remembrance Day calls on Canadians to stand together, above politics, to reaffirm the values that those before us fought to defend: liberty, democracy, and the rule of law. In every community — from coast to coast to coast — Canadians will once again gather around cenotaphs, in schools, town squares, and legions. The red poppy, humble yet powerful, will bloom again on lapels and jackets. It is not a symbol of war but of peace; not of politics but of gratitude. To wear the poppy is to say, I remember. Sadly, there are voices today who downplay the meaning of Remembrance Day, dismissing it as a relic of another age. Yet to forget is to lose ourselves. As Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel reminded us: “Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.” Remembering Beyond the Battlefield Remembrance is not only about soldiers at the front lines. It is also about the families who waited — the mothers and fathers, wives and husbands, children who watched the trains depart and prayed for their loved ones’ return. It is about the workers on factory floors who built the ships, the planes, and the shells. It is about the nurses and doctors who tended to the wounded, and the communities that rebuilt after each war’s end. In Canada, remembrance also means acknowledging those who served at home — Indigenous volunteers who fought in disproportionate numbers, new immigrants who defended a land they had just begun to call home, and women who kept industries running and later demanded their rightful place in society. The Meaning of Sacrifice Freedom, democracy, and peace are not guaranteed. They are earned, maintained, and renewed through vigilance. The men and women who wore the maple leaf on their sleeves understood this. As President John F. Kennedy said in 1961: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” That promise remains relevant today — not as a call to arms, but as a reminder of the responsibility we all share. To be Canadian is to inherit not only rights but also duties: to protect the weak, defend justice, and foster understanding among nations. Lest We Forget On November 11, as the trumpets sound and the silence falls, each of us has a duty to remember — not only as citizens of Canada but as custodians of a legacy built on courage. We do not celebrate war; we commemorate peace. We do not glorify conflict; we honour sacrifice. The poppy on our lapel connects us to those who came before: the soldier in the trenches of Passchendaele, the pilot over Dieppe, the medic in Kandahar. It connects us also to those who serve today — sailors patrolling northern waters, peacekeepers abroad, and reservists who balance military service with civilian life. These men and women are not faceless. They are our neighbours, friends, and family. They have dreams and ambitions, yet they choose service before self. Their courage deserves not only our gratitude but also our enduring remembrance. Carrying the Torch Forward In classrooms across the country, young Canadians will once again recite the lines of Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae’s immortal poem “In Flanders Fields.” It is more than poetry; it is a passing of the torch: “To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.” That torch now rests in our hands. How we carry it — through respect, civic engagement, and a commitment to peace — will define us as much as the battles once did. As we look around our communities this Remembrance Day — from Vancouver to Halifax, from Iqaluit to Windsor — let us stand together as Canadians, united in purpose and gratitude. Let us remember those who gave their today for our tomorrow. For in remembering, we preserve not just the past, but also the very essence of who we are. We will remember them. Lest we forget.