Parks

This memorial is dedicated to the men from Montreal who fought in the First and Second World Wars.

This memorial is dedicated to Roméo Vachon, a First World War veteran. It was erected by the City of Sainte-Foy.

On August 27, 2013, Longueuil city council adopted a resolution to name the park located on Dirigeables Street in honour of Private Simon Longtin, a member of the 3rd battalion of the Royal 22e Régiment, who died in Afghanistan on August 19, 2007.

Formerly Souvenir Park, this park has been known as Léo-Major Park since 2018. An educational plaque with Private Leo Major's biography and Canada's contribution during the Second World War is located in the park.

At 19, Leo Major enlisted in the Canadian Army and went overseas in 1941 as a member of the Régiment de la Chaudière. Partially blinded by a grenade during the D-Day landings in 1944, he refused to be sent home – arguing that a sniper needed only one eye to sight his rifle. His new nickname – “the one-eyed ghost” – suited him.

On 13 April 1945, Major and his friend Corporal Welly Arsenault volunteered for a night patrol of German-occupied Zwolle, near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Arsenault was killed early in the mission. Major, enraged at the loss, took up his comrade’s weapon and charged the town alone. To make the occupying German soldiers believe they were under full attack, Major fired his machine gun through the streets, tossed grenades, and set fire to the local Gestapo headquarters. With the help of local resistance fighters, he took dozens of German prisoners, while the rest fled. For his bravery in liberating Zwolle, Major received the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

A pipefitter in peacetime, he returned to the battlefield in 1950 as a volunteer in the Korean War. A member of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, he received a second Distinguished Conduct Medal when his scout platoon recaptured a key position and repulsed four separate attacks.

Major died on 12 October 2008, in Candiac, Quebec, and was buried at the Last Post Fund National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire. Zwolle named a street after him, made him an honorary citizen and holds an annual ceremony to remember his heroism.

On 29 April 2020, Canada Post Corporation issued a stamp in Léo Major's honour, to mark the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, 1945.

Dorval's "Peace Park" was designated as part of Canada's 125th Birthday in 1992.

"Peace Parks Across Canada" was conceived and organized by the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) in collaboration with "CANADA 125" and the National Capital Commission. As Canada celebrated its 125th Birthday, some 400 cities and towns across Canada dedicated a Park to Peace – with most parks dedicated at Noon local time, October 8th, as the National Peacekeeping Monument was being unveiled in Ottawa. The members of the winning design team included Cornelia H. Oberlander, landscape architect. Supporters included the Federation of Canadian Mayors and Municipalities, Canada Parks and Recreation Association, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Heritage Canada, World Wildlife Fund Canada, Friends of the Earth, Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, and local Rotary Clubs all across Canada. Project sponsors included VIA Rail, Greyhound Lines Canada, Ltd., CP Hotels and Resorts, Ramada International Hotels and Resorts, Four Seasons Ltd., Meridien Hotels, Concept 3 Advertising and Programmed Communications, Ltd.

Peace Parks Across Canada" has served as the foundation in launching the "IIPT Global Peace Parks Program" on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, 2000

At noon on October 9th, 2007 – one day after the precise 15th Anniversary of the original dedications, and as Canada continues to be a beacon of peace, Tolerance, and Understanding in a world of increasing violence and distrust, and a nation that celebrates diversity, a nation-wide re-dedication was co-ordinated.

Each of the original Peace Parks incorporated a ‘Bosco Sacro’ (Peace Grove) of 12 trees as a symbolic link with one another, and with nature - and as a symbol of hope for the future. The 12 trees were also symbolic of Canada’s 10 Provinces and two Territories. As there are now three Territories, a 13th tree was planted as part of the "Re-dedication Ceremony."

The Heroes Park Project commemorates the 100^th anniversary of the First World War. The entrance to the park has a “gate”, consisting of low, curved walls with an inscribed front. The walls end in short columns, inscribed on the back, and a large, black stone monument is located in the middle of the park.

In 2010, The City of Beaconsfield and its citizens were honored when the city flag flew in the Canadian Headquarters of the 1^st Battalion, Royal 22^nd Regiment Battle Group in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Major R Gratton, a Beaconsfield resident and member of the Second Field Regiment (Reserve artillery Regiment in Montreal) was then deployed in Afghanistan made a promise to create a citizen committee to build a cenotaph to honour the service of the military but also those who are in harm’s way in the service to the population of Canada. Heroes Park is a part of this dedication, which also includes the Beaconsfield War Memorial and the Path of Heroes.

This memorial park, which is marked by an elaborate arch supported by two stone columns, is dedicated to the local war dead of the First and Second World Wars.

When local doctor Karen Ewing returned home after seeing WWI and WWII battlefields and memorials in Europe, she felt strongly that, since many people would not be travelling to Europe, there should be a memorial in Bass River. Dr. Ewing began with a letter campaign to all levels of government, as well as companies, organizations, and individuals that might be willing to donate funds or materials for such a park. She then approached Dominion Chair Co, a local company to ask for a piece of land that had remained vacant for years in the heart of Bass River. The memorial park is dedicated to remembering, honouring, and celebrating all men and women who served of are serving in Canada's military in conflicts past and present.

The Veterans Memorial Park (VMP) was designed by Dr. Karen Ewing in the form of a Celtic flower. The three gardens enfold eight black granite monuments set on red gravel. On the left is the Garden of Sorrows, formed as a mock WWI trench with no flowers and only black mulch and white sandbags. Behind the monuments is the Garden of Remembrance, with old-fashioned white and green shrubs, bulbs, perennials, and grasses. To the right is the Garden of Hope, in full colour, again filled with shrubs, bulbs and perennials from all around the world to inspire the visitors to look forward to the day when we will all live in peace with each other. The park is ringed by native trees with lawns and red gravel paths.

In addition to the black granite monuments, there are three stone benches dedicated to the families, the parents and the children who give so much when a family member goes away to serve. Behind the garden sits a sculpture, created and donated by a local welder, of the world surrounded by barbed wire. As the wire circles upward, it changes to olive branches and, at the tip, a peace dove takes flight. It is a symbol of our continued hope for peace.

Finally, there is a Forgotten Heroes monument, conceived of and donated by a local student. It is dedicated to the sacrifice of all the animals that have been used during war time and peace time.