Where to mark Remembrance Day in Toronto
People in Toronto will have many options to commemorate Remembrance Day this weekend.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, and a variety of events around the city will pay tribute to Canada's fallen soldiers.
Saturday
On Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Ontario's Lieutenant Governor, Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, will join members of the Canadian Forces for a rededication ceremony at Coronation Park.
The site, which was originally opened to commemorate King George VI's coronation in 1937, is being restored to its original design as a permanent memorial to Canada's and Toronto's contributions during the Great War.
Sunday
Ceremonies on Remembrance Day begin with the military parade in downtown Toronto, which starts at 10:10 a.m.
Five hundred members of the Canadian Armed Forces will march north on University Avenue from Union Station. The special route celebrates the return of Canadian soldiers from the First World War, retracing the path the soldiers would have taken from the train station in 1918 and 1919.
Toronto's primary ceremony will then take place at Old City Hall starting at 10:45 a.m. The ceremony will include a recital of In Flanders Fields, a wreath laying, and a fly over by the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association.
The province of Ontario will hold its Ceremony of Remembrance at Queen's Park, which also begins at 10:45 a.m.
Several other Remembrance Day ceremonies are also scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. Sunday at the following locations:
East York Civic Centre, Memorial Gardens.
Etobicoke Civic Centre Cenotaph.
Toronto Centre for the Arts, George Weston Recital Hall.
York Memorial Collegiate.
Fort York National Historic Site.
The city of Toronto will also display its Great War Book of Remembrance on Sunday in the rotunda at city hall. The new document was officially dedicated this week by mayor John Tory.
The book includes the names of more than 3,200 people who died in the First World War while serving with Toronto-based regiments.
The book will be displayed for one day only, and will be returned to the Toronto Archives after Nov. 11.
Visitors can also view the city's Golden Book of Remembrance, which is dedicated to soldiers killed in the Second World War.
Road closures
The various ceremonies will result in numerous rolling road closures around the city.
University Avenue from York Street to Queen's Park will be under rolling closures starting at 10 a.m. Sunday to accommodate the military parade.
Queen Street West between Yonge Street and Osgoode Lane, Bay Street between Dundas Street West and Richmond Street West, and James Street between Queen Street West and Albert Street will be closed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
A full list of closures can be found here.
