Soldiers, dignitaries and family members stood in freezing temperatures at a military base in eastern Ontario on Sunday as the bodies of five Canadians killed in Afghanistan arrived home.From left, Sgt. George Miok, Pte. Garrett William Chidley, Sgt. Kirk Taylor and Cpl. Zachery McCormack were killed in a bomb blast on Dec. 30 in Afghanistan. (Sgt. Daren Kraus/DND/Canadian Press)

A grey military Airbus plane touched down at Canadian Forces Base Trenton around 2 p.m. ET, carrying the flag-draped caskets.

A roadside bomb blast near Kandahar last Wednesday killed Sgt. George Miok, 28, and Cpl. Zachery McCormack, 21, both of Edmonton; Sgt. Kirk Taylor, 28, of Yarmouth, N.S.; and Pte. Garrett Chidley, 21, of Cambridge, Ont.

Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang, 34, who was accompanying the soldiers in a LAV III, was also killed when the armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.

Her casket was unloaded from the plane first, followed by that of Miok, then Taylor, McCormack and Chidley.Soldiers stand guard as the caskets are unloaded at CFB Trenton. (CBC)

Michael Louie, the man Lang was to marry this summer, carried a single red rose and wept openly as he approached the vehicle, while others around him pulled each other close. The ritual was repeated for each of the men Lang died alongside.

The ceremony marked the first time in Canada's military history that a civilian received the same repatriation honours as soldiers who have died in the line of duty.

Lang, a National Newspaper Award winner, was the first Canadian journalist to be killed while covering the mission. She had been in Afghanistan for only 20 days.

Only on two other occasions has the single-day toll been deadlier for Canada: in the spring and summer of 2007, two IED blasts just three months apart each claimed the lives of six Canadian troops.

Residents line the road as hearses carrying the remains of the five Canadians drive by during a repatriation ceremony at Canadian Forces Base Trenton on Sunday. (Mike Cassese/Reuters)

In all, 138 Canadian soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the Afghan mission since it began in 2002.

Dozens of people who live in the Trenton area shivered in the cold and falling snow as they lined the fence near the tarmac to witness the emotional ceremony.

Gwendolyn Richards worked with Lang at the Calgary Herald. She travelled to CFB Trenton, along with family and other friends.

"I just want to be there when she comes home and have a chance to say goodbye to her and welcome her back to Canada," Richards said.

"We're preparing for a very emotional day," she added. "But I'm honoured that I can be here as a friend of Michelle's, and I know her other friends feel the same way. And we just want to support her fiancé, Mike, and the family members who are coming out, and we want to be there for them."

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walt Natynczyk were among the dignitaries who joined mourners.

The bodies were driven Sunday afternoon from Trenton to Toronto along the 170-kilometre stretch of Highway 401 dubbed the "Highway of Heroes."

With files from The Canadian Press