Hundreds gather to honour veterans at Toronto's Remembrance Day ceremony

TORONTO -

Hundreds of people attended an in-person Remembrance Day ceremony outside of Toronto's Old City Hall Thursday to honour the sacrifices of Canada's veterans.

Last year's ceremony was held virtually, with a small number of dignitaries attending in-person. At the beginning of his remarks, Mayor John Tory thanked members of the public for taking the time to come to the cenotaph at 60 Queen Street West.

"May I begin by saying how proud I am, not surprised, but proud that so many people have come out today after what we've been through and we're still going through because this is such an important occasion," he said.

A little more than 1,300 people also tuned in to watch the ceremony on the city's Youtube channel.

The ceremony began with the playing of the “Last Post” followed by two minutes of silence.

The "Act of Remembrance" was read by Gerry Morgan, the District D Commander of the Royal Canadian Legion, while the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, was read by Sara Gehlaut, a volunteer with the Vimy Foundation of Canada.

The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association also conducted a flyby over East York, Sunnybrook and Queen's Park.

"We have gathered here together today, in the shadow of Old City Hall, to remember, as residents of Toronto have been doing for more than 100 years now," Tory said in his opening remarks. "We gather here because they, men and women from this city and from across Canada, did their duty—and they often did way more than their duty because they answered the call, because they left their homes and families behind and because many of them never returned from that battlefield."

"It is our duty to remember them, to never forget."

Over the past century, almost 10,000 soldiers from Toronto did not make it home, the mayor said.

This year marks 100 years since the poppy became a symbol of remembrance in Canada. Tory noted that in 1921, the mayor of Toronto was presented with its first wreath of poppies.

"In that first year alone, a million poppies were distributed in Canada and almost $200,000 was raised," Tory said. "It was the start of what has become an essential form of community support for the Royal Canadian Legion."

Second World War veteran Marvin Gord laid the last wreath at the Toronto ceremony in honour of the Year of the Poppy.

Gord enlisted in the military with the goal of working as part of an aircraft crew, but was initially rejected because he wore glasses. Undeterred, he pivoted to become a radar specialist and toured in England, Italy and Africa.

In 2020, ahead of his 100th birthday, Gord walked a million steps to raise $1 million for the Baycrest Foundation, a charity that provides medical equipment and treatment for senior citizens.

He was joined to lay the poppy wreath by retired Major General David Fraser, a former Commander of Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.

A separate ceremony was held at the Ontario Veteran's Memorial at Queen's Park for a small number of invitees.