Ottawa – The Government of Canada is committed to commemorating the end of our country’s military mission in Afghanistan and to paying tribute to the fallen, to the sacrifices of the wounded and to military families.
Canada’s mission in Afghanistan is the most significant military engagement with respect to the number of Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed since the Korean War. Altogether, 158 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, a Canadian diplomat, a DND contractor, a Canadian journalist who was embedded with the CAF and more than 40 United States Armed Forces members who were under Canadian command during operations lost their lives in Afghanistan. Many Canadian military personnel were injured and thousands of communities and families were personally affected.
The Government of Canada will construct a national memorial to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan and add the dates of the Afghanistan mission on the National War Memorial.
The National Memorial to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan will reflect the enormous efforts and personal sacrifices made by Canadians, both military and civilian, who died, were injured, participated in or supported the Afghanistan mission, as well their families and communities. The design of the Memorial will reflect values Canadians hold dear and echo the nation’s pride in our country’s efforts and accomplishments in Afghanistan. The Memorial will be located in a place of prominence—to be determined—in Ottawa. The National Memorial to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan is scheduled to be unveiled in 2017.
The National War Memorial is currently dedicated to those who served in the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War and has had a focus of remembering all those who served. To ensure that the National War Memorial continues to stand as a reminder of the strength and sacrifices shown by Canada in times of conflict, later in 2014, the Government of Canada will add the dates of the mission in Afghanistan (2001–2014).
