Ottawa – Seventy–five years ago, on September 10, 1939, Canada officially entered the Second World War.
Thousands of Canadians would go on to serve and more than 45 000 died overseas in the fight for freedom, democracy and equality, and to end tyranny and oppression. Today, many veterans in Canada remember the war with sharp clarity, just as the many Canadians who stayed on the home front remember how they helped the war effort. We must never forget what they sacrificed for us. We owe them all an enormous debt of gratitude.
As we mark the 75th anniversary of Canada’s entrance into the Second World War, our task is to remember the sacrifices of those who served, and to try to better understand this history and the conditions that gave rise to the war. To do so, we must tell our stories to each other and to our children, and we must ask ourselves how it came to pass that the 20th century, a period of unparalleled technological progress and prosperity, also saw the loss of millions of human lives in two almost unimaginably destructive world wars.
On this solemn occasion, let us honour our veterans and those who lost their lives in the Second World War, while working together as a nation and with the world to prevent this from ever happening again.
David Johnston
–30–
Julie Rocheleau
Rideau Hall Press Office
613–998–7280
julie.rocheleau@gg.ca
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