In the next decade, Seili said, there may not be any Second World War vets left.

Seili said veterans of wars following the Second World War are present and involved in the legion.

Canada’s Legion branches are no longer losing members in droves, as they once were, said Dominion president Thomas Irvine.

“It seems that in the last two or three years, with our membership drives and our modernization that the bleeding has almost stopped,” Irvine told Simcoe.com.

In the same breath, he acknowledged that there remains “a little bit of modern-school and old-school clash” as the membership ages and the organization explores avenues to attract today’s soldiers into the fold.

“A 20-year-old or a 25-year-old or a 30-year-old with a family doesn’t want to go to the legion and play bingo or shuffleboard,” Irvine said.

Included among recent modernization measures are the availability of online membership sign-ups, renewals and bulletins, along with programs aimed at encouraging older members to be more accepting of newcomers.

“There have been issues in the past, but we are changing that attitude a little bit at a time,” Irvine said.

Three quarters of the Royal Canadian Legion’s 270,000 members are military, ex-military or family.

That said, the organization welcomes the involvement of the wider community at its branches, Irvine added.

“The door is open for all Canadians that support our cause … but they have to be supporters of our mission,” he said.