A TRADITION OF REMEMBRANCE: THE FIRST POPPY PRESENTATION TO THE GOVERNOR GENERAL OF CANADA – OCTOBER 21, 2026

Another notice about the first Poppy.


As we approach Remembrance Day, I am pleased to share a special moment in Canada’s proud tradition of honouring those who have served and sacrificed in defence of our freedoms.

On October 21, 2026, representatives of the Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP) were honoured to join the Royal Canadian Legion and Canada’s veterans and remembrance communities at Rideau Hall for the ceremonial presentation of the First Poppy to Her Excellency the Right Honourable Louise Arbour, Governor General of Canada.

This meaningful occasion reaffirmed our collective responsibility to preserve the legacy of our veterans, support those who serve today, and inspire future generations to carry forward the torch of remembrance.

Read the full tribute here: A Tradition of Remembrance: The First Poppy Presentation to the Governor General of Canada — October 21, 2026

My very best regards,

Stéphane Ouellette
President and Chief Executive Officer
Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP)/
Founder/President
Colonel John Gardam Lifetime Achievement Award Institute
Fairmont Château Laurier
1 Rideau Street 7th Floor, Office 703, Ottawa ON K1N  8S7
Mobile: 1.613.501.6337
E-mail: ouellettes@rogers.com
Website: www.alliedmerchantnavy.com

Last chance to order materials for Veterans’ Week! // Dernière chance pour commander des ressources de la Semaine des vétérans!

Note this deadline for any members who may be educators or may have family members who are educators.


Winged victory: How a wonder of nature helped win the Second World War

An item from the Legion Magazine.


Legion Magazine was saddened by the tragic incident at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta. Our thoughts are with family, colleagues and friends of those who died, were wounded and experienced the event. We will remember.

Weekly Feature
Observation Post

Canadian pigeon carriers give the birds water in captured trenches on Hill 70 in August 1917. [DND/LAC/O-1828]

Winged victory: How a wonder of nature helped win the Second World War

STORY BY RICHARD FOOT

They served bravely in the Second World War on secret flying missions deep inside Nazi-occupied Europe.

Thousands perished. Others made it home safely to Britain amid extraordinary feats of endurance and daring.

None understood the high stakes of their wartime service. After all, they were pigeons— small, stoic birds conscripted into the war to carry out vital tasks that no human ever could.

During the raid on Dieppe on Aug. 19, 1942, a pigeon named Beach Comber was carried ashore by Canadian soldiers, then released. Dodging machine-gun fire, the bird flew back across the English Channel carrying a message attached to its leg: the first confirmation for authorities in England that Allied troops had landed in France.

READ MORE

More from observation post

October Crisis: Canadians are tested again by threats both domestic and foreign

The prime minister’s words, delivered in a televised address on Oct. 16, 1970, were chilling: “The governments of Canada and of Quebec have been told

Lessons of the Holocaust: Two women who wouldn’t let Canadians forget

Canada recently lost two beacons of moral conscience. Judy Weissenberg Cohen and Rose Lipszyc, survivors of the Holocaust, died last month in Toronto.

19,000 and counting: How an amateur historian maintains the memory of Indigenous veterans in Canada

The names spill forth from Yann Castelnot’s seemingly endless list, like a rollcall of courage. Alongside those listed are their Indigenous nations—Mi’kmaq, Mohawk (Kanyen’kehà:ka) and

Notebook and Pen Combo
The Briefing
The Briefing

Jim Hutton, co-founder of Veterans with Cancer. [Veterans with Cancer]

Veterans with Cancer co-founder Jim Hutton on carcinogenic exposure in the CAF

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Retired commander Jim Hutton recalls the mess deck where he relaxed aboard HMCS Assiniboine. Then an ordinary seaman serving in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Cold War, he was well prepared for peril—but not for what loomed above his berth.

There, hanging low where he rested off duty, were “steam pipes covered with lagging. The lagging was all asbestos.”

It was an era before FaceTime, Hutton recounts, when writing letters was still in vogue. “I remember putting my pen and pencils into the lagging to hold them because it was a great place for them to be. You could also throw your webbing over that, and all you could see was dust coming down.”

READ MORE

More from The Briefing

Author Allan Bartley on the Hong Kong exploits of Canadian WW II spy Mike Kendall

Francis (Mike) Kendall was many things: flawed yet formidable, complicated yet courageous and, perhaps most strikingly, forgotten.

Jessica Miller on the Veteran Farm Project

“Farming is never as straightforward as you hope it will be,” said retired sergeant Jessica Miller. The former medic would know, having traded tourniquets for

Canadian filmmaker Dale Morrisey highlights women of WW II in doc series

“Time and money are the enemy of Canadian history documentaries,” remarked filmmaker Dale Morrisey, the founder of Wandering Journalist Productions. “You’re fighting to find that

Member Benefit Partner

Arbor Memorial

National Updates from The Royal Canadian Legion

Note the presentation of the first Poppy yesterday.


The red Poppy: rooted in Remembrance and carried forward.

Note this item from the Royal Canadian mint that may be of interest to members.


Your Status: Bronze
Masters Club Points: 0
SYMBOLIC RED
Rooted in Remembrance
and Carried Forward
Distinguished by an early cloth lapel Poppy that speaks to its beginnings as an emblem of Remembrance—and to The Royal Canadian Legion’s own origins—this 2026 fine silver coin pays tribute to Canada’s veterans, and to the Legion’s 100-year legacy as Canada’s steward of Remembrance.
Inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” by Canadian John McCrae, the early lapel Poppy—a handcrafted fabric bloom worn in the aftermath of the First World War—took root as an emblem of grief and gratitude, quickly growing into a national act of Remembrance.
Carried forward by The Royal Canadian Legion upon its incorporation in 1926, the Poppy endures as a living promise—a promise renewed on this fine silver coin, where the red cloth lapel Poppy from the 1920s is joined with the Legion’s motto “MEMORIAM EORUM RETINEBIMUS” (“We Will Remember Them”) and set before a field of blooming poppies that speaks to their shared origins and enduring legacy.
A Historic Poppy
Your coin features the red cloth lapel Poppy from the 1920s backed by an engraved field of blooming poppies, recalling the origins of this symbol of Remembrance inspired by Canadian John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields.”
A Centenary Year
The Royal Canadian Legion’s motto, “MEMORIAM EORUM RETINEBIMUS” (“We Will Remember Them”) is included on the reverse, in recognition of the Legion’s mission of Remembrance and the 100ᵗʰ anniversary of its incorporation.
Remembrance Day – 1 oz. Fine Silver Coin (2026)
No. 256071 | Mintage: 7,500
$219.95
NO GST/HST
BUY NOW
The trademarks Poppy Design, LEGION & Design and LEGION are owned and registered by The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and are used under licence.
Returns are free and easy (Canada only)
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14-day money back guarantee
Additional terms and conditions apply. For more information, please see:
All prices are in Canadian dollars. Weights herein are nominal. Products may differ from those shown and are not actual size. Taxes extra where applicable.
© 2026 Royal Canadian Mint. All rights reserved.
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K1A 0G8, Canada