Dear <<c_First_Name>>,

What an amazing year it has been! First, I would like to express my gratitude for all your support. It truly means a great deal to us at Canada Company and those we serve. Thanks to you, we have been able to achieve many successes throughout 2024.

From launching our most recent Military History Learning Program Honouring Bravery in Ontario, to unveiling our final LAV III Monument in Winnipeg, to celebrating the 25^th Junior Canadian Rangers Anniversary in Kuujjuaq, we have had an eventful year. I would like to share some key events that happened this year.

Expanding our Footprint

In early October, we held our first Halifax chapter meeting. This meeting set a solid foundation for a stronger presence in Nova Scotia and a strong chapter overall. This came after we had a successful CAF Experience Day at CFB Halifax on July 11th. Halifax complements the already established chapters in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary.

Canada Company Halifax Chapter Meeting

Military History Programs Launch

Championing Education A key moment for our education pillar happened on June 5th with the launch of Honouring Bravery, one of the Military History Learning Programs. The event took place in Toronto and featured a captivating speech from Chantal Clabrough, the recipient of the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching. Chantal spoke in support of the program, highlighting how it creates meaningful connections to the past for students, and promotes critical thinking and personal reflection in the classroom.

Honouring Bravery resources

Je Me Souviens resource

In preparation for November 11^th, Honouring Bravery released a Remembrance Day package. The package includes four modules that are targeted towards different grade levels. Also included are six educational videos that focus on the lived experiences of members of the Canadian Armed Forces who served during times of international conflict, a Remembrance Day assembly how-to guide, a timeline of the Canadian Armed Forces, amongst other things. The package was created in partnership with TVO Learn, a division of TVO Media Education Group, and garnered over 770,000 views across all platforms.

Quebec’s Military History Learning Program, Je Me Souviens, continues to expand across the province. Recent exhibitions include “Remembering Afghanistan” and “When Daylight Comes: The Canadians on D-Day”, both of which are available online and in person. On top of developing new content, the team has also been busy bringing exhibitions to different schools across the province of Quebec this year. They have reached over 30,000 school users since September 2024.

On August 15th, we held our 17th Annual Scholarship Ceremony for children of the Fallen in Toronto. We were joined by The Honorable Edith Dumont, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, who helped present nine scholarships to the students attending the ceremony. In total, we awarded 20 scholarships this year, 16 to post-secondary students and 4 to post-graduate students.

Children of the Fallen Scholarship Ceremony

Cadet and JCR bursary recipients

Speaking of awards, we also had the honour of presenting $1,000 bursaries to exemplary Junior Canadian Rangers (JCRs) and Cadets who embody attributes of leadership and citizenship. On August 24th we recognized 22 JCRs and on October 19th we recognized 27 Cadets.

Raising Awareness

This past year has been busy with events raising awareness of our Canadian Armed Forces. We held three CAF Experience Days, with the first one taking place with the Royal Canadian Air Force at CFB Trenton in mid May. This was shortly followed by a day with the Royal Canadian Navy Clearance Divers at CFB Halifax on July 11th. The final one for the year took place in Cold Lake, Alberta on October 9^th. Altogether, there were 65 CAF Experience Day participants.

CAF Experience Day Trenton

CAF Experience Day Halifax

CAF Speaker Series speakers

We partnered with Accenture to hold four CAF Speaker Series events throughout the year, with a fifth planned for December. The first event featured General Eyre in Toronto on March 22nd, shortly followed by Rear-Admiral Kurtz in Halifax on April 26th. Later in the year on October 24th we had Rear-Admiral Robinson speak in Vancouver, followed by Lieutenant-General Boivin in Ottawa on November 7th. Between these four events, there were 390 CAF Speaker Series attendees.

On October 2nd we held our annual Quebec Mess Dinner in Montreal. Our guest speaker Paul Tennant delivered an insightful speech speaking to the topic of “On the sidelines of NATO and excluded from AUKUS, what next for our CAF”.

Mess Dinner Attendees

Winnipeg LAV III Monument

Our final event in October was the 33rd and final LAV III Monument unveiling. After launching the program ten years ago in November 2014, we held the final LAV III monument ceremony in Winnipeg on October 27th. Also, on November 14th we ran a RCAF Centennial Conference Banquet in Calgary in partnership with the University of Calgary’s Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies. The event featured guest speaker Billie Flynn, The Canadian Airman. Close to 100 people attended the event.

Prioritizing Wellbeing

For wellbeing, we took part in the Junior Canadian Rangers 25th Anniversary Patrols Event in Kuujjuaq, Quebec. The three-day National Winter Enhanced Training Session was held from Thursday January 11th to Saturday January 13th, with Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, in attendance.

25th JCR Anniversary

Children at summer camp in Ennismore, Ontario

We also supported the National Summer Camp Program, funding 44 children to attend summer camps across Canada.

A year worth celebrating

As we reflect on all that has happened in 2024, I am immensely grateful; grateful for your support, grateful for the programs and events that took place, and grateful for everyone who helped to make it happen.

We still have one more event this year before we head into the holidays, and that is a CAF Speaker Series with Lieutenant General Michael Wright, in Edmonton on December 5th. Looking ahead, we also already have several events planned for next year, including one CAF Speaker Series and two CAF Experience Days. Stay tuned for more details on these events!

One thing that helps ensure we can continue our programs and events is your donations. If you’d like to recommit to Canada Company, giving generously is one of the best ways to honour our country’s veterans, military members, and their families. See below for the ways your contributions can make an impact.

Donations this holiday season

The following graphic explains the impact of your individual or collective donations. Please consider a monthly gift to support our work throughout the year.