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2021 DM/CDS holiday card contest winner announced!

December 15, 2021 – Defence Stories

Lilia Thomson (9): A little girl hugging her dad at Christmas after coming back from war.
Caption

Lilia Thomson (9): A little girl hugging her dad at Christmas after coming back from war.

In November, Deputy Minister Jody Thomas and Chief of the Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre kicked off their annual contest for the design of their holiday greeting card.

It was a difficult decision to make, but the DM and CDS are happy to announce that 9 year-old Lilia Thomson, is this year’s winner of the holiday card contest. Her father is a member of the Defence Team in Ottawa. Congratulations Lilia!

A special thank you to all of the children for the beautiful artwork they sent in. With so many creative submissions, picking just one was a challenge.

Take a look at the gallery below to see all of the entries we received.

Image gallery

  • Bronwyn Ward-Hoffarth (7): My picture shows a military member at Christmas time bringing gifts and food.
  • Yuvraj Chuhan (12): My artwork shows ways the search and rescue team makes a difference. The box with the soilders shoveling snow shows when the soilders went to Newfoundland and shoveled snow for the community. The picture with the soilder giving water to a kid is when they went to a refugee camp to give them food and water. The picture with the pearson on the computer is showing them during covid, they still worked online and helped people online. The picture with the submarine shows them checking the water so it is safe for us.
  • Mia Douillard (12): Search and rescue are brave and save many people, no matter the conditions. Many lives have been saved thanks to them. They are always ready to help!
  • Julianna Faurbo (6): This is a picture of a damaged BC highway after the recent flood. Our Defence Team is helping save residents and providing Christmas presents including life jackets. To the left is a mud slide, the defence team helicopter and top right is Santa and his sleigh.
  • Elora Faurbo (8): It was Christmas Eve. Santa was flying and unfortunately hit a jet plane, and went crashing in the ocean!!! Santa and the reindeer could not fly, so Santa called the Defence team and the Joint Task Force came to his rescue. The Defence Team saved Christmas.
  • Maria Thomson (7): A little girl is so happy to see her dad again at Christmas.
  • Lilia Thomson (9): A little girl hugging her dad at Christmas after coming back from war.
  • Chyanne Hinks (12): Our defence team members help each and every day, wherever and whenever, to help others in need in Canada, and around the world. My artwork shows Medics that help rescue the injured. Our members supplying those in need, and bringing festive cheer!
  • Iain McKenzie (9): The helicopter is going to put the carrot in the snowman for its nose. This relates to the army because the helicopters deliver stuff for the army and helps the soldiers.
  • Nora McCallum (9): This picture is of soldiers decorating a Christmas tree. With a helicopter putting the star on the on the tree, and unlodding presents.
  • Louis Bégin (6): Going to a war.
  • Josebelle Brown (6): Candy cane Canada flag.
  • Brianna Ferreri (4): Happy Holidays.
  • Benjamin Toomey (5): Half-Griffon, half-Cormorant helicopter rescuing driver and cargo of a Christmas tree delivery truck. The truck is stuck in the muck. It's a mudslide in British Columbia. It's raining very hard. They need to rescue the trees so that everybody can have a happy Christmas.
  • Bejamin Toomey (5): Fighter jet 100 dropping presents on the ground for anyone who wants them. It has a zapper. They are going to fast to use radar. The zapper stops them from bonking into things.
  • Benjamin Toomey (5): Cormorant helicopter with video camera filming a tree and putting it on the screen, helping Santa and his sleigh drop presents to penguins. The presents are fish.
  • Nora Deveau (4): The military saves our country. This is them with their Christmas tree, it has a star. And they have presents. *When asked why some of them are upside down: because sometimes people are upside down.
  • Sidney Morrell (6): It's not Remembrance Day so I can make it scary, right? This soldier was shooting a werewolf who was about to throw a stone at the Christmas tree. Then a bat was trying to suck your blood when someone was camping in wintertime. Then the red button was trying to shoot the ghost out of the air. And there was a snowball monster trying to take presents from a house.
  • Graham McCallum (7): This is a picture of D-day bording. Santa is dropping presents as they board. Happy Christmas soldiers.
  • Graham McCallum (7): This picture is about rememberance day. The crosses are to remember the solders who died to save our contry.
  • Nicolas Valle (8): A army tank defending the village from the bad guys so that everything is safe even if there is a tornado he only wated everyone to be safe.
  • Juliane Blanchet (7): Soldiers help to keep families safe.
  • Abby Silverson (8): In this photo there is a soldier helping the hospital. You can see that it is Christmas time. There is also a miletary airplane.
  • Noémie Thibault (8): Thank you. A soldier is giving a warm blanket and a present to a kid in a refugee camp.
  • Owen Sandford (9): It's Christmas and Santa is delivering presents in a army helicopter and rudolph and frosty are having a war!
  • Adèle Castonguay (8): This is a heart protecting the whole world, just like our soldiers.
  • Colton Young (7): Christmas drawing.
  • Nathan Bégin (8): An elf soldier. A Christmas war.
  • Raylyn Brown (8): Christmas ornaments that are symbols of Canada; maple leaf, support our troops, and camouflage.
  • Sofia Brown (9): Army teddy Bear in a winter wonder land.
  • Aurelia Jackson (7): The army was saving pepels and animls from the flud in B.C.
  • Ainsley Ward-Hoffarth (9): Military members helping by bringing food and medical supplies to people in emergencies.
  • Brooke Ferreri (7): The snowbirds fly to make people happy.
  • Sophie Summers (9): The soldiers are helping set up a HUGE Christmas tree while Santa is delivering presents.
  • Olivia Sanford (7): Santa is jumping out of a helecopter going to put presents in the houses for the kids.
  • Rogan Hilliker (9): My art piece is about how all of the soldiers sacrifice their lives for Canada and all people so we can live in peace and have a healthy earth. At Christmas, soldiers aren't able to be home with their families to celebrate and their sacrifices are what let us all have our freedom.
  • Gabriel DesJardins (8): This year the Canadian Forces helped with distributing the COVID-19 vaccines to people so that everyone is safe to invite friends and celebrate the holidays.
  • Loïc Richer (8): This is a drawing of two Canadian Forces soldiers giving gifts to people in the hospital.
  • Zoé Leduc (9): This drawing represents the Canadian Forces providing help to the communities in British Columbia that are impacted by the floods.
  • Naïma Douillard (9): Soldiers big or small helped to make peace, even on holidays like Christmas. But they still are heros!
  • Yoan Douillard (7): We are here to help everyone.
  • Josianne Henao Alcendra (7): Today I want to thank all the Canadian military for their help throut the country. From north to south, from east to west, and also to the military outside of Canada. With their effort and dedication, we feel safe. This is the reason for my drawing.
  • Tessa Kingsbury (8): Soldier in a snowglobe
  • Lilia Thomson (9): This is a solger helping somon when they have covid-19. We love thous who died for us. (A soldier helping someone who is sick with COVID-19)
  • Ariane St-Amant (8): I drew a Chinook helicopter helping someone during the floods in British Columbia. There is also a flooded home and people on a building who are waiting to be evacuated.
  • Maeve Marr (7): It is a MEDIC helping Santa's hurt reindeer. The reindeer has a cast on. The medic is checking if the reindeer has a fever!
  • Eliam Monetta (7): It is the end of the war and the kids at crismast morning are opening their gifts that Santa left them and talking to each and other with their family back.
  • Calvin Bell (8): Military members putting out forest fires, shovelling snow, putting sand bags to keep Canada safe so Santa can deliver presents with his tank (that shoots presents).
  • Gerard Malong (12): Helicopters dropping Christmas gifts to gifts with a snowman saluting.
  • Joanie Blanchet (12): I drew this to thank the entire Defence Team for their peacekeeping efforts. The holiday decorations represent DRDC and the CAF.
  • James Blanchet(10): The Defence Team makes it so that everyone can celebrate the holidays and be safe. The CAF are dropping off gifts in front of the houses.
  • Alyssa Thomas (11): Armed Forces wish you Happy Holidays 
  • Hayley Silverson (11): In this colourful drawing there is a soldier helping the hospital with patience during covid-19. You can tell it's covid time because of the signs and masks. If you look to the right you can see a covid screening room. There is also lots of Christmas decorations!
  • Laelynn Perreault (12): The military is planting plants near a forest, to help it grow. The military person on the far left is going to go get some water. The second person on the left is looking at a flower. The person sitting is planting a flower. The person closest to the front is getting seeds to plant the flowers. They don't have faces due to me not having enough time and not being good at drawing faces. :) They are planting flowers to help the forest grow.
  • Aliyah Lacey (11): This Art is about the navy, airforce and army. I wanted to show the saddnes of being away from home with the girl. The airforce, other navy ships and army are to show all of the hard work that the military does.
  • Félix Castonguay (12): Even in the North Pole, everything is in order! Here is a troop of snowmen undergoing inspection.
  • Célèste Castonguay (11): The soldier is a symbol of peace. The green character represents all the nations. The soldier is working with the nations to ensure peace.
  • Bruno Castonguay (10): Soldiers continue to make sacrifices, like being away from their families to ensure peace.
  • Violet Demedeiros (10): I depict how the Airforce / military helps as saving the lives of others by risking their own. They protect our citizens from dangerous and sad events like floods such as the one shown above on the left. This is what the picture on the left represents. The picture on the right however, it shows the smile on the family's faces when their military member returns from saving lives all around the globe.
  • Rebeca Dempsey (11): The artwork is everyone brought a gift for the tree. On the top of the tree there is a helmet. Santa is putting music on. The helicopter is sercoling the tree.
  • Mia Tauzovic (10): A Canadian soldier in British Columbia that is filling sandbags with sand and they are getting a little help from a snowman.
  • Killyam Haneo Alcendra (12): With my drawing I want to highlight the work that the Canadian military does throughout all of Canada taking care of us and protecting the country. Thanks!!
  • Léo Monetta (10): The Army is helping put the Christmas tree lights on the biggest Christmas tree in the city, which is located in the middle of the city.
  • Julianna Sambol (10): This is supposed to represent how you work with the army, the navy and aircrafts. The biggest square on the bottom shows how you help animals like killer whales, right whales, dolpins and more marine animals. I hope you pick this one to represent you in your Christmas card.
  • Mya Leduc (12): This drawing represents the efforts that the Canadian Armed Forces provided during the COVID 19 situation.
  • Anna Gallipeau (8): This is a soldier snowmen trying to save a Christmas cat. And showing that soldiers dont just fight in wars they do many other things like in this picture.

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