OTTAWA—His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, and patron of The Royal Canadian Legion, will receive the symbolic first poppy of the 2012 National Poppy Campaign from Comrade Gordon Moore, Dominion President of The Royal Canadian Legion. Her Excellency Sharon Johnston will also receive a poppy from Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Larry Murray, the organization’s Grand President. The ceremony will be held at Rideau Hall on Wednesday, October 24, 2012, at 10:30 a.m.
Poppies will be available to the general public beginning Friday, October 26, 2012. Each year, approximately 18 million poppies are distributed in communities across Canada.
Officially adopted in Canada, in 1921, by the Great War Veterans’ Association (the predecessor of today’s Royal Canadian Legion), poppies are recognized as the national Symbol of Remembrance for the 117 000 Canadian men and women who gave their lives during military service around the world.
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