Snow dusted the heads of hundreds gathered in front of the Old City Hall cenotaph in Toronto on Monday as Canadians marked the 101st Remembrance Day to honour veterans and those who continue to serve the country today.

Despite the frosty weather, the street was flooded with people wearing bright red poppies on their coats, watching the ceremony unfold with a veterans’ parade, a moment of silence and words of remembrance.

“This morning we take the time to pause and remember the commitment and the sacrifice of all those who supported the Canadian military efforts from the front lines to the home front during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and in other places around the world,” Mayor John Tory said in a speech to the crowd.

Remembrance Day, originally called Armistice Day, was first observed in 1919 throughout former British colonies to mark the armistice agreement that ended the First World War on Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Canadians observe two minutes of silence to remember both the lives lost and the lives forever changed by war.

On Monday, veteran Levi Samson Beardy read the “Commitment to Remember” in Oji-Cree during a ceremony that also included both the Canadian and British national anthems, a prayer and a hymn, and a reading of John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields.” Tory, MPs Bill Morneau and Adam Vaughan and MPP Suze Morrison laid wreaths along with other military and government representatives.

“In Toronto it has been our blessing to be joined by many residents who have taken refuge from war and conflict and who have become our neighbours and our friends. They know all about sacrifice in the name of freedom and respect for human rights,” Tory said in his remarks.

As the ceremony wrapped up, Lt.-Cmdr. Amardeep Singh of the Royal Canadian Navy said he wanted to attend to honour the sacrifices of those who have served their country, including people he served alongside, good friends who were killed in action in Afghanistan.

“It’s important to remember all those soldiers and sailors and airmen that have given their lives, not just in Canada but throughout all the nations that have fought in the wars. As a serving member, it’s a day to observe and pray for them and what they have done and for their families,” he said.

Singh, who immigrated to Canada from India at age 11 in 1991, had always dreamed of joining the military. As a teen, he jumped at the chance to attend Royal Military College, and has been serving for the past 22 years.

“There’s a lot of people of a lot of different backgrounds that have served in the military,” Singh said. “There’s at least maybe, I would say, 10 to 12 per cent of people that are visible minorities and there are a lot of new immigrants that come in after they get their Canadian citizenship.

“I think maybe the general public doesn’t know that.”

Singh’s remarks come in contrast to Don Cherry’s comments during his Coach’s Corner segment on “Hockey Night in Canada” on Saturday, in which he suggested immigrants are ungrateful and not wearing poppies to honour veterans.

“You people love — that come here, whatever it is — you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price,” Cherry said as part of a rambling rant comparing people in Toronto and Mississauga to “good Canadians” in small cities.

Christopher Tuckwood, 35, who served in the military before turning to humanitarian work in conflict zones around the world, said that if Cherry was attempting to express frustration about people not caring about Remembrance Day, he went about it the absolute wrong way.

“Making those kinds of comments is almost a betrayal of what veterans, and people who didn’t survive to become veterans, fought for in terms of having a free society where we can be prosperous and welcome in newcomers,” Tuckwood said.

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Although he wears a poppy every year to honour family members who served in the First and Second World Wars, Tuckwood said no one should feel obligated to participate in a public show of patriotism.

“It’s a personal choice for everybody and just because someone doesn’t wear a piece of plastic, let’s be honest, doesn’t mean they don’t have the same sentiments internally,” he said.

At Queen’s Park, about 400 people gathered around the war memorial on the front lawn, where Premier Doug Ford and other dignitaries placed wreaths in the falling snow.

“From Cambrai in World War One to Kabul in our recent memory, Canadians have stood fast against tyranny and against terror,” said Ford, who last week announced an Afghanistan war memorial will be built on the same site in time for next year’s Remembrance Day.

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“We should remember that when these men and women were called to serve and to defend Canada they were not asked about their race, their religion or politics. They were asked simply are you ready to serve your country. And they were. And we will remember and honour them.”

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the end of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, which began after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks of 2001 and cost the lives of 158 Canadian Armed Forces members, including 53 from Ontario.

On Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gov. Gen. Julie Payette were among those laying wreaths in memory of those who died serving Canada.

“Today, we pay tribute to our veterans, to those who have been injured in the line of duty, and to all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Trudeau said. “They stood for liberty, and sacrificed their future for the future of others. Their selflessness and courage continue to inspire Canadians who serve today.”

As Canadians remember those who were lost in war, they shouldn’t forget the wounded who returned home, said retired Air Force captain Philip Brooks in Toronto. Brooks suffered back and brain injuries during a complex flying manoeuvre while training for the Gulf War in 1998. It took him almost two decades to secure a medical pension, he said.

“That’s really what veterans are standing up and talking about now,” Brooks said. “It’s our job on Remembrance Day to remember the wounded and the families of the fallen. And we’re not doing a very good job of taking care of them.”

Correction - Nov. 14, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Canadians marked the 100th Remembrance Day.

With files from Rob Ferguson and The Canadian Press

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