Communities throughout the Edmonton region hosted events on Wednesday to honour the service and sacrifice of Canadian soldiers. Alberta’s oldest war monument, the Beverly Memorial Cenotaph on 118 Avenue NW, continued its longstanding tradition of hosting a ceremony, while army reserve gunners from the Edmonton-based 20th Field Regiment fired a gun salute with 105-millimetre howitzers and blank ammunition from the grounds of the Alberta legislature. Meanwhile, the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) marched down Veterans Way in St. Albert northwest of Alberta’s capital city for part of that ceremony. “My dad and all of his brothers served in the Second World War, so it’s very important to us,” said one attendee, Dale Rokosh. “I think if you’re willing to lay down your life, you should be remembered and respected,” added the daughter of an armed forces member, Lucille Christian. More than 80 soldiers with the Charlie Company unit of the PPCLI were conducting a training exercise when a windstorm sent flames from a grass fire onto the troops at CFB Wainwright on Oct. 17, 2026, killing four and injuring 39 others. “It’s always impressive when they come out,” Christian said of the parade. “The older vets, as well, but the younger ones that are still serving – they come here and they know that this may be their fate. That needs to be supported.” “It was emotional, especially remembering those in Wainwright who lost their lives,” said one mother, Opal McNish, who brought her kids because they recently joined the local scouts chapter. Their leader, commissioner Michelle Constable, told CTV News Edmonton, “I always find that if we don’t make an effort to teach them these things, that people don’t know…. So it’s important to show them.” Hundreds also attended a ceremony in Wainwright on Wednesday, which honoured the fire victims. With files from Miriam Valdes-Carletti and The Canadian Press
