Mourners held Canadian flags and yellow roses Tuesday as a military plane brought home the remains of three soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan.

Crowds line the Simcoe Street bridge in Oshawa, Ont., to pay tribute to the bodies of the fallen soldiers passing by on Highway 401 below. (Brendan O'Mahony/CBC)

Pte. Michael Freeman, 28, died Friday when his armoured vehicle struck an explosive device during a security patrol in Zhari district.

Sgt. Gregory Kruse and Warrant Officer Gaetan Roberge were killed when a roadside bomb exploded Saturday in the Panjwaii district in the western part of Kandahar province.

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Chief of Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk joined the families of the dead soldiers to pay their respects during the solemn ceremony at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario.

One woman who has attended most of the repatriation ceremonies at the base this year said she believes it's important to pay respects.

"I'm not supporting the war, but I am supporting the troops," said April Bishop, of Trenton, Ont. "I'm supporting the families."

People also lined overpasses along a stretch of Highway 401 leading to Toronto that has become known as the Highway of Heroes.

Cold has reduced fighting in past years

Don White, a veteran of the Second World War, salutes after the hearses carrying the three dead soldiers drive by in Oshawa, Ont. (Brendan O'Mahony/CBC)

Nine Canadian soldiers have died this December, close to the record of 10 deaths set in September 2006.

In past years, snow-clogged mountain roads and cold temperatures have kept militants in their hideouts until the warmer spring weather.

Prior to 2008, only five soldiers died in the period from December to March since Canada took over security in Kandahar province in mid-2006.

Last week, Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson said there is no special significance to the higher number of winter deaths this year.

"It's not a linear process," he said. "There are spikes and valleys."

Bomb attacks, kidnappings doubled in 2008: U.S. ambassador

Crowds of people line the road as the hearses of Pte. Michael Freeman, Sgt. Gregory Kruse and Warrant Officer Gaetan Roberge leave CFB Trenton following a repatriation ceremony on Tuesday. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

During a weekend visit to Kandahar Airfield, Defence Minister Peter MacKay acknowledged the Taliban would likely step up their attacks next year. He predicted less violence by 2010.

But William Wood, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said the number of improvised explosive device attacks doubled in 2008 from about 1,000 in 2007 to 2,000 in 2008.

Wood also said reported kidnappings were up from 130 in 2007 to 250 in 2008, while he also noted many more abductions go unreported.

With files from the Canadian Press