Ontario

The Ontario Veterans' Memorial commemorates the sacrifices of Canada's veterans who served in war and peace and was unveiled on September 17, 2006, by the province, veterans, and the military. It was fitting that this significant memorial was unveiled on the front lawn of Queen's Park to coincide with the anniversary date of the first parliament in Ontario.

Following one of the largest military parades in Toronto's history, the memorial was unveiled by numerous veterans and dignitaries including the Honourable James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Honourable Michael A. Brown, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. "This memorial wall will be a lasting tribute to the sacrifice, courage and dedication of our Veterans," said Major-General Richard Rohmer, Co-Chair of the Veterans' Memorial Advisory Committee, which is responsible for the overall planning of the project. "We are pleased that the military, our veterans, the province, and the Crown will jointly dedicate this new monument to those who have given so much."

Allan Harding MacKay and landscape architectural firm Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg designed the granite wall, etched with scenes and inscriptions of Canada’s military involvement in conflicts since 1867. It is approximately 100 feet long and eight feet six inches tall. The memorial is also inscribed with text written by poet Jane Urquhart. Major-General Richard Rohmer (Ret.), co-chair of the committee, said one of the great Canadian historians, Dr. Jack Granatstein, helped with the scenes. Other features include a stone-paved gathering area, seating area, paths and a gently sloping lawn.

In 2020, the Ontario Afghanistan Memorial was added to this location.

This park is named in honour of Colonel Sir Casimir Gzowski, KCMG.

Colonel Sir Casimir Gzowski was born in St Petersburg in 1813 to a Polish father who served with the Russian military. He was sent to a military prep school and upon graduation in 1830, joined the Imperial Corps of Engineers. With the Polish Kingdom recreated in 1815 under Russian control, and the subsequent uprisings against their Russian masters in 1830, Gzowski joined the Polish nationalist cause but was captured in 1831 and deported to the United States, where he learned English, completed a law apprenticeship and opened a law office in 1837. Calling upon his previous experience as an engineer, Gzowski was involved in many road, bridge and canal building projects and eventually returned exclusively to engineering. During one of his visits to Canada to review a project, Gzowski was offered the position of Superintendant of Roads and Waterways for the London area. He and his family moved to Canada in 1842 where he embarked on a remarkable 50 year engineering career, involving himself in projects from canal and road construction, to mining operations along Lake Huron to railway construction in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, Guelph and Toronto. In the mid 1860’s, he resumed his interest in military affairs and often submitted petitions calling for stronger military forces in the face of the Fenian Raids. Instrumental in the creation of the Dominion Rifle Association, Gzowski was commissioned as a Lieutenant-Colonel by the Governor General in 1873, appointed honorary aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria in 1879 and promoted to Colonel in 1882. In 1890 he was awarded a KCMG and died in Toronto in 1898.

This tablet was dedicated by Toronto employees of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada in honour of their comrades who gave their lives in the First World War.

The first recognition of No. 2 Construction Battalion was the dedication of a plaque. It was unveiled in the main hallway of the Ontario Legislative Assembly at Queen’s Park on 5 July 1920 on the 4^th anniversary of the unit’s founding. The project was spearheaded by Toronto minister, Reverend Harry Logan, and his wife who were the parents of a No. 2 soldier, Private Harry Logan Jr. Private Logan who died of pulmonary tuberculosis two years later.

After considerable lobbying by Blacks and white supporters, Canada fielded one Black battalion during the First World War — but they had to fight with shovels, not rifles. No. 2 Construction Battalion was authorized on July 5, 1916, in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and was composed of Black men from across Canada, United States and British West Indies. Its officers were white, with the exception of the unit’s chaplain, Honorary Captain The Reverend William Andrew White. 

This tablet was dedicated by Toronto employees of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada in honour of their comrades who gave their lives in the Second World War.

This plaque is dedicated to the Church of St. John The Evangelist (The Garrison Church). It was erected by the City of Toronto, Culture Division.

The 48th Highlanders Regimental Memorial was erected in 1923, in memory of the officers and men of the 48th Highlanders who gave their lives in the First World War. The memorial was paid for by members, ex-members and friends of the Regiment. The memorial was unveiled by His Excellency, Lord Byng, Governor-General of Canada at the Armistice-Remembrance Parade of the Regiment in November 1923.

Designed by Captain (then Brigadier) E.W. Haldenby, CBE, MC, VD, the pillar is set on an elevated base of six steps with the regimental crest on each side. The pillar is surmounted by the Christian Cross of Sacrifice carved on each side. A sheathed sword is carved on the front of the memorial. The crest on the front bears the words "15th Canadian Battalion", on the right side - "134 Overseas", and on the left side - "92 Canada Overseas". Carved in the stone are the names of the battles from the First World War in which the regiment took its full part and in which 61 officers and 1,406 non-commissioned officers gave their lives. 

A further 10 Battle Honours were added after the Second War to honour the 351 dead from that conflict. Alvan Sherlock Mathers was the architect. In 1962, the entire structure was lifted and moved to the east to allow for construction of the new University subway line that would run immediately below the site. When the subway was completed, the memorial was moved back to its original location. Time, elements, the 1960 relocation process and the presence of the subway below the structure gradually took their toll on the structure. In 2014, Brigadier General (ret) Greg Young proposed a project for the much needed restoration of the memorial. The work commenced in 2015 and was completed by November 11 the following year. The Regiment’s newest Battle Honour – Afghanistan – was added to the memorial. 

This monument was donated to the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto by Henry R. Jackman O.C., K.St. J., Q.C. and the Jackman Foundation. It was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth in 1984. The bronze and marble monument was designed by Oscar Nemon.

The Airmen Monument was designed by sculptor Oscar Nemon. Oscar was born in Osijek, Croatia, which formed part of former Yugoslavia for most of his lifetime. At the start of the Second World War, he was a newly settled refugee sculptor in England trying to make his way in an unknown language and country. Most of Oscar's family died in the Holocaust, a total of twenty-two murdered relatives.

The Old Soldier, War of 1812 Memorial was erected by the British Army and Navy Veterans' Association. It honours the dead of the War of 1812 and was erected on the site of an old burial ground used between 1794 and 1863 for soldiers and their families from nearby Fort York. 

The cornerstone was laid on July 1, 1902, and featured a time capsule, including newspapers, coins, and other documents of the day. Veterans of several wars were on hand for the ceremony, including those who had served in the Crimean War, Second Opium War, India’s First War of Independence, Second Anglo-Aghan War, Fenian Raids, North-West Rebellion, and the South African War. The official unveiling was on July 5, 1907, after nearly 20 years of planning and fundraising.

The memorial was designed and constructed by Walter Seymour Allward. He designed a bronze half-length figure of an old one-armed soldier in uniform of 1812, holding his military cap, the George IV medal on his chest and the end of one empty sleeve pinned up. Allward emphasizes the Veteran's powerful response to the suffering caused by war and the experience of the misery of war is reflected in his haunted expression and pose.

The Victoria College Second World War Plaque was erected by the Board of Regents and dedicated on October 13, 1953, to the students of Victoria College who lost their lives in the Second World War.