Clearly, to argue we were fighting for “freedom”, therefore, you have to ignore the unfree status of the subjects of the Russian, French, British, Italian, and American Empires. Furthermore, the “free” democracies, Britain and France, maintained massive overseas Empires collectively subjugating hundreds of millions of people who lived without freedom and oftentimes in very dire circumstances. However, Russia, the most autocratic and authoritarian regime in Europe, was also a key partner. Accordingly, it behooves us to think critically about the notion that the over 66,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who died in the Great War sacrificed themselves for the cause of freedom.įirst, who were Canadians and Newfoundlanders fighting alongside? It’s true that the two great European democracies – Britain and France – were our allies, as, eventually, were Italy, another democracy, and the United States. Further, the assertion that the cenotaph symbolizes all Canadians who have sacrificed “in the cause of peace and freedom-past, present, and future,” serves to legitimate not just Canadian participation in World War One, but all Canadian military actions since then. That Canada stood in defense of freedom is thus central both to George V’s 1939 message, and to that offered by Veterans Affairs in 2015. His Majesty King George V, the website informs us, unveiled it on, with the words, “One sees at a glance the answer made by Canada when the world’s peace was broken and freedom threatened in the fateful years of the Great War.” This National War Memorial began life in the interwar years as a tribute to the fallen of World War One.

The memorial is the site of the national Remembrance Day Ceremony on November 11. The National War Memorial, also known as “The Response,” is a cenotaph symbolizing the sacrifice of all Canadian Armed Forces personnel who have served Canada in time of war in the cause of peace and freedom–past, present and future. The opening paragraph of the text on the page reads, If one looks at Veterans’ Affairs’ website one will find a page dedicated to the National War Memorial.

Ad infinitum ww1