Merchant Navy Veterans Day of Remembrance

September 03, 2009

Winnipeg, Manitoba – The Merchant Navy has had a long struggle to get their contribution to our military history recognized. Finally, on June 19th, 2003, bill C-411, an Act to establish Merchant Navy Veterans Day was given Royal Assent. September 3rd of every year since then has been reserved for celebrating the sacrifices and contributions of the brave members of the Merchant Navy.

The Member for Saint Boniface and Parliamentary Secretary for official Languages, Shelly Glover, recognizes the contribution made by Veterans of the Merchant Marines. “The Merchant Marine played a vital role in World War II, risking their lives to supply our soldiers. In a region with many fishers, we know the danger of the sea so we must honour the memory of the many people who lost their lives at sea,” added Ms. Glover.

During the Second World War, a total of 25,343 merchant ships, with 164,783,921 tons of cargo on-board, sailed from North America to Britain. However, the true cost of the war at sea was in human lives lost in defence of freedom – the Canadian Merchant Navy alone lost one seafarer in eight out of the 12,000 that faithfully served their country.

The Merchant Navy seamen were sadly unrecognized for over 50 years, and thanks to you and your fellow Canadians, we are now gaining a positive momentum that is beginning to show Canada’s appreciation to our remaining Merchant Navy Veterans and their families. Increasing attendance to this event is one of the many objectives of the MNCTP to ensure comparable recognition levels to their Army, Navy, and Air Force counterparts.

To acknowledge the rich history of the Merchant Navy at the Merchant Navy Veterans Day of Remembrance, a ceremony will be held on Sunday, September 13th, at 11:00am, at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.