Commuters passing through Toronto’s Union Station are encountering a massive, poignant tribute to the country’s military history as the Royal Canadian Legion marks a pivotal milestone. The expansive public installation reflects the personal journeys and sacrifices of more than 120,000 Canadian veterans who gave their lives in service to the nation across more than a century of armed conflicts, peacekeeping deployments, and security missions.
The public display is part of Don’t Forget to Remember, a dedicated initiative marking the Legion’s centenary. Funded by the Government of Canada, the installation stands in one of the country’s busiest transit hubs to ensure that the memory of fallen service members remains woven into everyday civic life. Stationed in the bustling Great Hall area, the installation is scheduled to welcome visitors and daily travellers through November 13, offering a contemplative space amidst the morning and evening rush in the days surrounding Remembrance Day.
The physical exhibit at Union Station serves as a central anchor for the broader National Poppy Campaign, which formally launched in late October and continues through the national moment of reflection on November 11. By pairing visual, story-driven commemorative art with nationwide outreach, the Legion aims to bridge historical military remembrance with modern Canadian society, engaging younger generations and transit riders from every background.
More ways to donate
As traditional paper cash becomes increasingly rare in daily commerce, the Royal Canadian Legion has continued to expand its fundraising network, introducing modern payment technologies so that supporters can make contributions easily wherever they are. The organization’s latest contactless donation options build upon several successful modern initiatives introduced in recent years, allowing Canadians to support veteran services through digital and mobile platforms.
A cornerstone of this modernization is the deployment of 2,000 "Pay Tribute" tap-enabled Poppy donation boxes placed in high-traffic retail, banking, and public spaces nationwide. Developed with the operational and technological support of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), these electronic terminals allow donors to make quick contributions using debit cards, credit cards, or mobile wallets. The tap-and-go units present a cashless alternative alongside the traditional red coin boxes that have sat on retail countertops across the country for decades.
In addition to physical tap terminals, the Legion is maintaining its ongoing collaboration with Amazon Canada for a third consecutive year. The partnership allows Canadians residing in urban centres, suburban communities, and remote rural regions to order lapel poppies directly to their homes. Donors browsing the digital platform can select fixed donation tiers of $5, $10, or $20, receiving their Remembrance lapel poppies packaged and delivered directly to their doorsteps.
“One hundred years of service to Canada’s veterans is a remarkable milestone. When we started this collaboration in 2024, the goal was simple: make it easier for Canadians to support the Legion and the work they do. Three years in, we’re reaching people in communities across the country who may not have had that opportunity before, and we’re honoured to continue supporting this campaign and the meaning it carries,” said Eva Lorenz, Vice President and Country Manager of Amazon Canada.
Beyond the lapel poppy delivery service, the Legion’s dedicated Amazon storefront features a curated collection of Remembrance merchandise, including commemorative apparel, jewelry, pins, and educational keepsakes. Proceeds generated through these retail channels flow back into veteran welfare initiatives, broadening the campaign’s financial base.
The Legion’s corporate and retail partnerships further expand the campaign’s geographic footprint. Starbucks locations across Canada are once again participating by integrating donation prompts into their point-of-sale registers. Contributions gathered at local Starbucks counters are tracked and transferred directly to the corresponding Legion branches in those same neighbourhoods, strengthening local community ties. Meanwhile, TD Bank is distributing traditional lapel poppies throughout its entire national branch network, offering another accessible physical point of contact for banking customers. Countless other independent retailers, civic offices, and corporate workplaces continue to host standard donation trays and display boxes.
Donations can also be made directly through the Legion’s official website at Legion.ca, which accepts one-time gifts and recurring contributions.
Every dollar gathered during the National Poppy Campaign is directed into the Poppy Trust Fund, a closely monitored financial reserve dedicated solely to assisting veterans, active military personnel, and their dependent families. The Legion maintains a strict policy of regional stewardship: funds raised in a specific municipality or neighbourhood remain within that community to fund local support systems. Nationally, generous donors contribute nearly $20 million annually to the Poppy Trust Fund, with the vast majority of these vital reserves collected during the intensive weeks of the autumn campaign. These funds finance emergency financial aid, essential medical equipment, mental health programming, housing transition grants, and elder care assistance for those who wore the uniform of the Canadian Armed Forces.
More ways to Remember
Commemoration remains the central mission of the campaign, culminating on November 11 with the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa. The annual gathering at the National War Memorial draws thousands of veterans, dignitaries, diplomatic representatives, and everyday citizens to the foot of the monument.
To ensure that every Canadian can participate regardless of geography or physical mobility, the Legion will broadcast the entire proceedings live on national television networks. A high-definition livestream will simultaneously be carried through the Legion’s official Facebook page, allowing domestic viewers, diaspora communities, and Canadian military personnel stationed overseas to experience the solemn service in real time.
Central to the national gathering is the universal observation of two minutes of silence at 11:00 a.m., marking the precise hour when the armistice took effect to end the fighting of the First World War in 1918. The Legion encourages all residents—whether gathered at a formal cenotaph ceremony, listening at their workplace desks, studying in classrooms, or pausing at home—to cease their activities and join in this collective act of reverence.
Outside the nation’s capital, hundreds of community-level services will be organized and overseen by Legion branch volunteers across every province and territory. To help citizens locate a nearby event, the Legion maintains an interactive Ceremony Locator on its website. The directory is continually updated throughout the Remembrance period with verified scheduling details, parking directions, and procession routes for services held at local cenotaphs, community centres, civic parks, and branch halls.
The National Ceremony in Ottawa will also feature the traditional Veterans March, an enduring centrepiece of the day’s observances. The Legion has issued an open invitation encouraging as many veterans as possible to take part in the parade, welcoming service members from every military era, branch, and specialization—including veterans of past international conflicts, long-standing peacekeeping deployments, domestic emergency relief efforts, and contemporary operations.
Virtual Wall and Poppy drop
Visual tributes will once again transform historic architecture in Ottawa into evocative memorials during the Remembrance period. Among the most prominent exhibits is the Virtual Wall of Honour, a digital memorial project displayed on one of the exterior columns of the Senate building.
The Virtual Wall consists of an ongoing video montage highlighting Canadian veterans who have passed away. Built from hundreds of family-submitted portraits, vintage military service photographs, and biographical dates, the installation personalizes military sacrifice by showing the everyday faces of soldiers, sailors, aviators, and nurses. The recurring projection highlights the human dimensions of duty and loss, creating an intimate connection for visitors walking through the parliamentary precinct in the autumn evenings.
Complementing the projected portraits is the return of the Legion’s signature Poppy Drop light display. The dynamic lighting projection casts the image of thousands of cascading red poppies across prominent architectural facades in the capital, visually symbolizing the blossoms of Flanders Fields drifting quietly over public monuments.
Together, the combination of transit exhibits, digital donation pathways, community observances, and illuminated architectural memorials reflects an ongoing effort to maintain remembrance as an active, accessible civic duty across Canada.