Toronto is marking Remembrance Day 2024 with ceremonies across the city, starting with a sunrise observance at Prospect Cemetery on St. Clair Avenue West.
The 96th annual service begins at 8 a.m., with Mayor Olivia Chow expected to be in attendance.
In Brampton, Meadowvale Cemetery will also host a sunrise ceremony at 8 a.m.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, 10 years since the end of the Canadian peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and the centennial of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The City of Toronto will hold a Remembrance Day ceremony at Old City Hall Cenotaph on Queen Street West, from 10:45 a.m. to noon.
Silent sentries from the 48th Highlanders of Canada will stand vigil at the cenotaph, wearing uniforms from different historical periods.
The ceremony will be live-streamed on YouTube.
Weather permitting, the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association will conduct a flypast with a symbolic “missing man formation” over Old City Hall at 11:05 a.m., East York Civic Centre at 11:08 a.m. and York Cemetery at 11:25 a.m, the city said.
The Harvards were used to train members of the Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces for air combat in the Second World War, the city said.
An exhibit outlining the history of the war in Afghanistan as it relates to Toronto is on display at city hall until Nov. 11.
At Queen’s Park, the province is holding a ceremony at the Ontario Veterans’ Memorial.
The ceremony, which starts at 10:45 a.m., will be live-streamed on the province’s YouTube channel in English and French.
This year, the University of Toronto is observing 100 years since the completion of Soldiers’ Tower, a bell and clock tower at the university’s downtown campus.
The tower is a memorial to the 628 students, faculty, staff and alumni who died serving in the First World War, and to the 557 people affiliated with the university who died in the Second World War.
The school will hold a remembrance service at 10:20 a.m. at Hart House Circle.
Students and staff from the Claude Watson School for the Arts in North York will host an assembly to honour veterans, which will include a woodwind ensemble, concert band and a performance about unity and peace sung by the entire school, according to the Toronto District School Board.
The assembly will start at 10:30 a.m.
Students at a North York high school have been gaining a new perspective on what it means to mark Remembrance Day. As part of a school project, students have been interviewing veterans to learn more about their stories. CBC’s Britnei Bilhete has more.
The Toronto Zoo is hosting its 39th Remembrance Day ceremony at the zoo’s Waterside Theatre, starting at 10:55 a.m.
Veterans in uniform will receive free zoo admission and parking on Monday.
Serving members in uniform of the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as police, fire and paramedic services, will also receive free admission and parking, according to the zoo’s website.
The general public will receive a 50 per cent discount on admission on Monday, the zoo said.
At 11 a.m., the TTC will pause all services for two minutes of silence.
All current members of the Canadian Armed Forces in uniform, as well as war and peacekeeping veterans wearing military service medals or ribbons, can ride the TTC for free on Monday, the TTC said in a news release.
The Royal Canadian Legion has a tool on their website to help you find a Remembrance Day ceremony happening near you.
Remembrance Day ceremonies in Toronto on Monday
- Prospect Cemetery, 1450 St Clair Ave. W., at 8 a.m.
- Meadowvale Cemetery, 7732 Mavis Rd., at 8 a.m.
- University of Toronto, Hart House Circle, at 10:30 a.m.
- Claude Watson School for the Arts, 130 Doris Ave., at 10:30 a.m.
- Fort York National Historic Site – Strachan Avenue Military Burial Ground, 100 Garrison Rd., at 10:30 a.m.
- Old City Hall Cenotaph, 50 Queen St. W., at 10:45 a.m.
- East York Civic Centre – Memorial Gardens, 850 Coxwell Ave., at 10:45 a.m.
- Etobicoke Civic Centre Cenotaph, 399 The West Mall, at 10:45 a.m.
- York Cemetery Cenotaph, 160 Beecroft Rd., at 10:45 a.m.
- Scarborough War Memorial, 2190 Kingston Rd., at 10:45 a.m.
- York Civic Centre Cenotaph, 2700 Eglinton Ave. W., at 10:45 a.m.
- Toronto Zoo, 2000 Meadowvale Rd., at 10:55 a.m.
Road closures on Monday
- Bay Street from Albert Street to Richmond Street West.
- Local access only to Albert Street from Bay Street southbound.
- Queen Street West from Bay Street to east of York Street.