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Jun 07, 2019

On June 7, 2019 the official Government of Canada delegation that travelled to Normandy, France to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of D-Day and Battle of Normandy attended a ceremony at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery in Cintheaux, France. During the ceremony, the recently discovered partial remains of Sergeant John Albert Collis from the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, R.C.I.C., were interred at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery.

The Allied offensive in Northwest Europe began with the Normandy landings of June 6, 1944. The majority of those buried in the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery died during the latter stages of the Normandy Campaign, namely the capture of Caen and the Allied thrust southwards to close the Falaise Gap. The cemetery contains 2,958 Second World War burials, with the majority being Canadian, and approximately 90 of them being unidentified.

Jun 07, 2019

On June 7, 2019 the Government of Canada held the Canadian Battlefields Foundation Ceremony at the Memorial Garden of the Abbaye d’Ardenne to remember the Canadians that fell there 75 years ago. Twenty Canadians from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, the Sherbrooke Fusiliers and the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders were executed by the 25^th Panzer Grenadier Regiment (of the 12^th SS Panzer Division) at the Abbaye d’Ardenne. A memorial was erected in the Memorial Garden by a local family, the Vico’s, which now includes a plaque mounted by members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Jun 07, 2019

On June 7, 2019 the official Government of Canada delegation, led by the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, attended a Canadian Battlefields Foundation ceremony at the Canadian Memorial Garden, on the grounds of Le Mémorial, in Caen, France.

The Canadian Battlefields Foundation established and maintains a Memorial Garden, on the grounds of Le Mémorial to recall the Canadian participation in the Battle of Normandy. It is a place to remember the young men who fought in Normandy, both those who gave their lives and those who survived. There are several elements of Canada represented in the Garden—a Canadian flag, maple trees, four glass steles with the names of all the Canadian military units which fought at the Battle of Normandy, and a low stone wall with the names of the 122 communities in Normandy liberated by Canadian troops in 1944.

Jun 06, 2019

On June 6, 2019 the Government of Canada marked the 75^th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy with a signature commemorative ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France.

The Government of Canada delegation was led by the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, who was accompanied by His Excellency Edouard Philippe, Prime Minister of the French Republic. In addition to the delegation, the Government of Canada was honoured to have members of the Canadian Armed Forces, members of the local community and the public participate in the ceremony.

On June 6 1944, known as D-Day, Allied troops stormed German defences on the beaches of Normandy to open the way to Germany from the West. The task was formidable. The Germans had turned the coastline into a continuous fortress of guns, pillboxes, razor wire, mines and beach obstacles. Against difficult odds, the Canadians advanced against the best troops the enemy had. Victory in the Normandy campaign, however, would come at a terrible cost. The Canadians suffered the most casualties of any division in the British Army Group.

Jun 06, 2019

On June 6, 2019 the Government of Canada held a ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of D Day and the Battle of Normandy. D Day and Battle of Normandy Veterans attended the ceremony alongside representatives of the Government of Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Embassy of France, the British High Commission and the public.

On June 6, 1944, known as D Day, Allied troops stormed German defences on the beaches of Normandy (France) to open the way to Germany from the West. D Day and the Battle of Normandy was one of the best known chapters of the Second World War, and our service members would play an important role in this pivotal campaign. We recognize and remember the more than 90,000 Canadians wo volunteered to serve our country and saw action in the Normandy Campaign.

Jun 05, 2019

An official Government of Canada delegation has arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia to mark the 75^th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. Today, Veterans Affairs Canada hosted a traditional ceremony at the Halifax Memorial in Point Pleasant Park.

Jun 05, 2019

The official Government of Canada delegation that travelled to Normandy, France to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, participated in a ceremony organized by the Government of Canada along with the villages of Reviers and Bény-sur-Mer at the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery.

The Government of Canada delegation, which was led by the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, was joined by Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, The Honourable Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defence and the mayors of Reviers and Bény-sur-Mer.

Many of those buried in the cemetery were men of the 3^rd Canadian Division who either died on 6 June 2019 or during the early days of the advance towards Caen, when the Division engaged a German battle group. The cemetery, designed by P.D. Hepworth, contains 2,049 Second World War Burials.

Jun 05, 2019

On June 5, 2019 the Government of Canada delegation visited the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France, as part of the ceremonies commemorating the 75^th Anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.

The Juno Beach Centre is Canada’s Second World War museum and cultural centre located in Normandy, France. The Centre pays homage to the 45,000 Canadians who lost their lives during the War, of which 5,500 were killed during the Battle of Normandy and 359 on D-Day.

Opened in 2003 by Veterans and volunteers, the Centre has a vision to create a permanent memorial to all Canadians who served during the Second World War with a mandate to preserve this legacy for future generations through education and remembrance.

Jun 04, 2019

On June 4, 2019, the official Government of Canada delegation for the 75^th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy attended the unveiling of the Chambois Canadian Monument in Chambois, France. The Battle of Chambois was fought in August, 1944 during the Second World War’s Normandy Campaign. The seizure of Chambois by Canadian, American and Polish forces led to the closure of the Falaise Pocket on August 21, 1944, which led to the destruction of most of Germany’s Army Group B in Western Europe.

Jun 03, 2019

In the months leading up to the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy on June 6, 2019, Veterans Affairs Canada held multiple events as part of a commemorative journey across Canada to Halifax. Yesterday, the combat boots—having been placed on trains in communities across the country—arrived in Halifax and will be part of the Government of Canada signature ceremony on June 6.