Royal Canadian Legion’s Poppy Drop is back 

October 25th marked the beginning of The Royal Canadian Legion’s National Poppy Campaign. Each year, the campaign begins on the last Friday of October and runs until Remembrance Day.

“This period of Remembrance is a sacred time in Canada,” says Legion Dominion President Thomas D. Irvine.  “It is imperative that we all spend time over the coming days learning the stories of our Veterans, and thinking about the ultimate sacrifices they made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have in Canada today.”

The beginning of Canada’s remembrance period, began with with a video montage The Virtual Wall of Honour, which appeared on screens at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

The montage consisted of images of fallen soldiers submitted by their families. Hundreds of images were submitted, serving as a poignant reminder of those who have served this country. 

The Virtual Wall was followed by the annual Poppy Drop. The 2019 Poppy Drop has 117,000 virtual poppies falling on Centre Block for the duration of the Remembrance Period, with each poppy representing a fallen Canadian veteran. 

The Poppy Drop can be viewed live online on the inaugural night via the Legion’s Facebook account. (link) 

Approximately 20 million poppies will be distributed over two weeks across Canada and abroad, and close to that same number of dollars will be put back into initiatives that support Canadian veterans. Digital Poppies are also available by visiting MyPoppy.ca.

The 2019 Remembrance period also includes special mentions of veterans who fought on D-Day, on June 6, 1944. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the milestone event that played a significant role in ending the war. Furthermore, this year marks the 5th anniversary of the end of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.

Details of the Poppy Campaign events are as follows:

• Virtual Wall of Honour: Parliament Hill, Oct. 25 – Nov. 10 (6:30 pm – 9:30 pm); Nov. 11 (6:30 pm-midnight)

• Virtual Poppy Drop: Parliament Hill, Oct. 25 – Nov. 10 (6:30 pm – 9:30 pm); Nov. 11 (6:30 pm-midnight)

• Poppy Drop on Kipnes Lantern of National Arts Centre Nov. 11 (7:00 am-midnight).