Prince Edward Island Premier Pat Binns has taken three steps to recognize the contribution veterans have made to the province.

The Island government:

  • will make Nov. 11 a statutory holiday, starting next year;

  • is offering a license plate for veterans, with the word "veteran" replacing the provincial logo;

    Ottawa
    Ottawa

  • will build three monuments along the Veterans Memorial Highway, the former Route 2 which was renamed last year.

"It will be a daily reminder of the fact that the veterans have played such an important role in giving us the great country that we have today," Binns said.

In Kabul
In Kabul

There were ceremonies all over the country Tuesday morning. Nov. 11 is Remembrance Day because the First World War formally ended on Nov. 11, 1918.

Nearly 69,000 Canadians died in that war, more than 47,000 in the Second World War, 516 in the Korean War, 267 in the Boer War and 113 on peacekeeping duty.

Charlotte Smith
Charlotte Smith

Kabul memorial marks Canadian sacrifice

In Kabul, soldiers marked Canada's most recent casualties, the Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan in the past two years.

A two-tonne memorial, with a plaque reading "Dedicated to those Canadians who gave their lives in the service of peace while serving in Afghanistan," was dedicated at a ceremony.

"I couldn't think of a more fitting tribute ... than this beautiful memorial," Lt.-Gen. Rick Hillier told hundreds of soldiers who stood at attention amid thick clouds of dust.

A blast from a cannon punctuated the ceremony.

National ceremonies

In Ottawa, Remembrance Day was marked with a wreath-laying ceremony at the National War Memorial attended by veterans, politicians and dignitaries.

Charlotte Smith, whose son Pte. Nathan Smith was killed in Afghanistan last year, is this year's Silver Cross mother. She laid a wreath at the memorial on behalf of all mothers who lost children in the military and merchant navy.

At the end of the ceremony she tried to put her thoughts into words. "We all come out to offer the memories of ... I don't know what to say."

In Winnipeg, police monitored stores to ensure they were closed until 1 a.m. to mark the day.

Aboriginal veterans gathered in Saskatoon where there was a powwow and remembrance service.

Canadian Pacific trains stopped for two minutes and then blew a long blast from their whistles.

Six Canadians have died on duty in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pte. Richard Green and Smith were killed by an errant U.S. bomb on April 18, 2002.

Sgt. Robert Short and Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger died after their vehicle hit what is believed to be a landmine on Oct. 2.