Canada's Unknown Soldier
Gone, Never Forgotten
Honouring Canada's Unknown Soldier
A nameless soldier, an unknown past, a timeless legacy. Canada’s Unknown Soldier is an eternal symbol of duty, courage, and sacrifice. The heart of our nation’s collective grief and gratitude, the Unknown Soldier represents all those who have selflessly served Canada, and invites us to reflect, remember, and forever honour them.
The 2025 Honouring Canada’s Unknown Soldier commemorative $2 circulation coin is a reverent salute to Canadian service members and to the anonymous hero who symbolizes our country’s 120,000 fallen souls, including the many who rest unknown.
Behind the Design
Canada’s Unknown Soldier Commemorative Circulation Coin
A call to remember, the $2 coin marks the 25th anniversary of the repatriation of Canada’s Unknown Soldier and the completion of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The coin’s deeply meaningful design was created by Mary-Ann Liu, the same artist who sculpted the Tomb’s bronze relief elements.
Find the Honouring Canada's Unknown Soldier $2 Coin
Now our change will honour Canada’s Unknown Soldier and the Tomb, a solemn tribute to all Canadians who gave their lives in service.
A Country United
The Homecoming of Canada’s Unknown Soldier
Twenty-five years ago, the remains of an unidentified Canadian combatant from the First World War were repatriated from a military cemetery near Vimy Ridge, France. In a unifying effort, Canada brought home its Unknown Soldier to the welcoming and grateful hearts of people across the country.
Scroll to discover the Unknown Soldier’s journey.
May 23, 2000
A Canadian delegation of government, military, and Legion officials flies to France to bring home our Unknown Soldier, who is exhumed from plot 8, Row E, Grave 7 of the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery in Souchez, located near Vimy Ridge. The unidentified soldier is randomly selected from among the 1,603 unknown Canadians buried in the vicinity.
DID YOU KNOW?
Over four days in April 1917, a primarily Canadian assault succeeded in taking Vimy Ridge—a historically significant victory. This Canadian action marked the first time all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together, which is why Canada’s Unknown Soldier was selected from this area.
May 25, 2000
Following a handover ceremony at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, the delegation accompanies the Unknown Soldier back to Canada. The Unknown Soldier lies in state for three days in the Hall of Honour on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, where tens of thousands of people pay their respects.
DID YOU KNOW?
Today, the original grave marker of Canada’s Unknown Soldier can be found at the Canadian War Museum’s Memorial Hall. Every Remembrance Day, sunlight shines directly on the headstone, fully illuminating it every November 11 at precisely 11 a.m.
May 28, 2000
Canada’s Unknown Soldier is laid to rest. In a nationally televised ceremony, the Unknown Solider is transported from Parliament Hill to the National War Memorial by an RCMP horse-drawn gun carriage, and is then reinterred with full honours.
DID YOU KNOW?
Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier contains soil from every province and territory—and some from the original gravesite at the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery. The soil was deposited on the casket before the granite sarcophagus was sealed.
Remembering the Repatriation: Witnessing the Return of Canada’s Unknown Soldier
Veterans’ organizations, military members, government departments, agencies, and more—many groups were involved in the repatriation of Canada’s Unknown Soldier. Discover how they made it happen, and hear the first‑hand account of Brigadier‑General (Ret’d) Duane Daly of The Royal Canadian Legion—the driving force behind the operation.
A Legacy Without End
Honouring the Unknown
In the line of duty, not all return home.
The Unknown Soldier is a concept many countries have adopted since the First World War to honour fallen service members who could not be identified or repatriated. For the loved ones of these brave souls, as well as for those with whom they shared a street, city, province, territory, or nation for which they fought for, the Unknown Soldier became a tangible means to grieve, and to express gratitude to those who have selflessly served their country.
Today, Canada’s Unknown Soldier serves as a beacon of remembrance, reminding us not only of the sacrifices made, but of the strength, hope, and resilience that live on in every generation.
Courage Etched in Stone
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Since its completion in 2000, the Tomb has served as a focal point of commemoration for people in Canada. Few symbols are more sacred than this Tomb, and none more eloquently express the enduring consequences of war.
Discover the design elements that adorn the Unknown Soldier’s final resting place.
Corner Pieces
Three Memorial Crosses—mementos of personal loss and sacrifice given to loved ones of fallen service members—and one poppy—representing those who may fall in future conflicts—flank the corners of the Tomb and symbolize mourning.
Bronze Overlay
Branches of maple and laurel leaves wrapped around a medieval sword and First World War-era helmet symbolize victory and death. These elements originate from the design of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.
Sarcophagus
Cast in dark Caledonia granite from Rivière‑à‑Pierre, Québec, the Tomb’s three‑tiered sarcophagus bears the bilingual inscription “THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER / LE SOLDAT INCONNU”
An Eternal Tribute
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Legacy Project
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was originally proposed by Canada’s veterans. They believed that having an Unknown Soldier on Canadian soil was important not only for memorialization, but to help new generations better understand the causes and consequences of war, including the many sacrifices made for our peace and freedom.
As part of the Canada Millennium Partnership Program, The Royal Canadian Legion sought to bring home an unidentified soldier from the First World War and to establish a place of commemoration for Canada’s unknown. In 1998, after receiving support from the Canadian Armed Forces, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Working Group was formed to implement the project. The Group was chaired by The Legion’s Dominion Secretary and was comprised of various government departments and organizations.
In two short years, the Working Group’s monumental undertaking and dedication led to the ceremony and reinternment of Canada’s Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on May 28, 2000.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Working Group:
The Royal Canadian Legion
In addition to chairing the working group, The Legion was responsible, alongside the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada and the National Council of Veterans, for the internment of and funeral ceremonies for the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa.
Veterans Affairs Canada
Veterans Affairs Canada oversaw communications and public relations regarding the project. They secured the CBC national broadcast of the ceremony, allowing viewers from across the country to pay their respects to the Unknown Solider in addition to the approximately 20,000 people who attended the ceremony in person.
Department of National Defence
Canadian Armed Forces members escorted and provided transportation for Canada’s Unknown Soldier, flying a CC-150 aircraft to France and home again with the Unknown Soldier’s remains. The Department of National Defence was also responsible for the security of the remains throughout the commemoration activities in Ottawa.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Canadian division of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was responsible for the selection and repatriation of Canada’s Unknown Soldier. Veterans Affairs Canada requested that the remains of the Unknown Soldier be selected from an area near Vimy Ridge—the site of one of Canada’s greatest military achievements during the First World War.
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Public Works and Government Services Canada was responsible for the Tomb itself, including the design and implementation in coordination with the existing monument at the National War Memorial. It was decided that the Unknown Soldier would rest in a sarcophagus created to match the design of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.
Mourning and Meaning: Why War Memorials Matter
By offering a tangible link to the past, memorials allow us the space to come together to mourn and show gratitude. To commemorate the repatriation of Canada’s Unknown Soldier, we spoke with Dr. Stacey Barker, Historian, Arts and Military History at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, about some of Canada’s most revered war memorials and why they are so important.
Unknown, Forever Remembered
Salute the One Who Represents the Many
Though their name and story remain unknown, Canada’s Unknown Soldier stands as a powerful symbol of courage, unity, and of our enduring respect for all who have served and continue to serve our country.
Now and in the years to come, with a coin minted in their honour, we as a nation will remember and pay tribute to the ultimate act of service of those who protect our freedoms, including the many who rest unknown.
Find the Honouring Canada’s Unknown Soldier commemorative $2 circulation coin in your change today.
Thank You
The Poppy Design is a registered trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used under licence.
Photo Credits
Header
Photo: Vimy Memorial / Source: Library and Archives Canada/Department of National Defence fonds/e010750629
Photo: North Shore New Brunswick Regiment - Soldier cleaning firearm / Source: Library and Archives Canada/Department of National Defence fonds/e006581363
Photo: An RCAF officer stands at salute / Source: Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board of Canada fonds/e011176647
Photo: A soldier stands at the National War Memorial / Photo Credit: Jill Thompson
Photo: CAF planes & Tomb / Photo Credit: Richard Lawrence Photography
Video
Photo: Tomb, National Remembrance Day Ceremony / Photo Credit: Richard Lawrence Photography
Photo: Remembrance Day Ceremony / Photo Credit: Jason Ransom / PMO
A Country United
Photo: Cabaret Rouge Cemetery / Photo Credit: Veterans Affairs Canada
Photo: Ceremony at Vimy / Photo Credit: Veterans Affairs Canada
Photo: Unknown Solider transported by RCMP horse-drawn gun carriage / Photo Credit: Veterans Affairs Canada
Remembering the Repatriation
Photo Credit: Veterans Affairs Canada
Mourning and Meaning
Photo Credit: Richard Lawrence Photography
Courage Etched in Stone
Photo: Tomb details / Photo Credit: Richard Lawrence Photography
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Working Group
Photo: Brigadier-General (Ret’d) Duane Daly, Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Larry Murray / Photo Credit: The Royal Canadian Legion National Headquarters
Photo: Tomb / Photo Credit: Veterans Affairs Canada
Photo Credit: Veterans Affairs Canada
Photo: Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery / Photo Credit: Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Photo: National War Memorial / Photo Credit: Richard Lawrence Photography
Unknown, Forever Remembered
Photo: Beechwood Cemetery Foundation Archive, August 2017 FR / Photo Credit: Richard Lawrence Photography
Photo: A serviceman at a military headstone / Source: Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board of Canada fonds/e011176648
Photo: Tomb / Photo Credit: Richard Lawrence Photography
Photo: Sikh Remembrance Day Ceremony / Photo credit: SikhMuseum.com
Photo: Edith Monture / Photo Credit: John Moses Collection
Photo: Brigadier-General (Ret’d) Duane Daly, Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Larry Murray / Photo Credit: The Royal Canadian Legion National Headquarters