Remembrance Day is observed on November 11th. It is a statutory holiday in the federal jurisdiction, Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan and the Yukon.

Remembrance Day commemorates Canadians who died in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.

The first Remembrance Day was conducted in 1919 throughout the Commonwealth. Originally called Armistice Day, it commemorated the end of the First World War, "the War to end all Wars", on Monday, November 11, 1918 at 11 a.m.: the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

From 1923 to 1931, Armistice Day was held on the Monday of the week in which November 11 fell. Thanksgiving was also celebrated on this day. In 1931, M.P. Allan Neill introduced a bill to hold Armistice Day on a fixed day - November 11. During the bill's introduction, it was decided the word "Remembrance" would be used instead of "Armistice". The bill passed and Remembrance Day was conducted on November 11, 1931. Thanksgiving Day was moved to October 12 that year.

In the USA, Remembrance Day is known as Veterans Day. The dead of World War II and Korea, and of all other wars are also remembered on this day. In Britain, Canada and much of the Commonwealth, and in France, Belgium and other parts of Europe, it is observed with a two minutes silence.

The poppy is the symbol that individuals use to show that they remember those who were killed in the wars and peace keeping operations that Canada has been involved in. Replica poppies are sold by the Royal Canadian Legion to raise money for needy veterans.

The tradition of wearing poppies in honor of Canada's war dead takes its origin from the poem "In Flanders Fields," written in 1915 by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. John McCrae was a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War. His poem reflects his first hand account of what he witnessed while working from a dressing station on the bank of the Yser Canal.

Web Cam of War Memorial