As November's solemn ceremonies approach, a profound truth echoes across Canadian campuses: freedom endures only when memory does. This principle lives in stone towers, bronze plaques, and the quiet lessons reminding Canadians of the immense cost paid to build this nation.
Campus Memorials: Stone and Bronze Testaments
More than a century ago, countless students abandoned their classrooms for distant battlefields. At the University of Toronto, 628 names are permanently engraved on Soldiers' Tower, honoring university members who died during active service in the First World War. The memorial bears 557 additional names from the Second World War, each representing a future surrendered so others might have one.
In the nation's capital, the University of Ottawa's Honour Roll documents a similar sacrifice. Records show that more than 1,000 graduates served in the war effort, with over 50 never returning home. These students believed deeply in Canada's promise—that a nation built on democracy and equality was worth defending.
Expanding the Narrative of Service
When Canada Post recently unveiled a Remembrance Day stamp honoring Sikh soldiers who served in the First World War, it highlighted that courage in service came from every corner of the country. These men fought under a flag that did not yet recognize them as equals.
Simultaneously, women were breaking barriers through their own contributions—nursing on front lines, working in munitions plants, decoding messages, and sustaining families and farms back home. Their service created an unbreakable bond between the home front and the battlefield.
Living Legacy: Education and Research
Today, remembrance continues as a living tradition on campuses from coast to coast. At Royal Roads University, a military museum preserves the legacy of cadets who trained there long before it became a public institution. In Kingston, the Royal Military College Museum connects current officer cadets with those who preceded them.
Dalhousie University trains physicians for the Canadian Armed Forces, while St. Francis Xavier's Memorial Rink stands as permanent tribute to students who left the ice for the battlefield. These institutions demonstrate how remembrance integrates into daily campus life.
Modern campuses also host veterans studying alongside first-year students, building new lives after service. Researchers at the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research study trauma and recovery, while historians preserve soldiers' personal letters to ensure their voices are never lost.
Canadian universities were founded to serve the public good, remembering who built the peace we enjoy today, and preparing new generations to honor and protect it. When students gather at Soldiers' Tower in Toronto or pause by a plaque on the University of Ottawa campus, they witness how the paths to knowledge and service have always intersected.
The next chapter of remembrance belongs to today's students. Their challenge involves defending freedom not only on battlefields but in classrooms, communities, and daily conversations. This means standing up for democracy and one another, living with the same sense of purpose as those who came before them.
This Remembrance Day, we're called to do more than simply remember. We must care for the memorials on our campuses, support the veterans who study there, and strengthen the research that helps them heal.
While we can never fully repay the debt owed to those who fell, by keeping their memory alive in our institutions, classrooms, and hearts, we honor their ultimate sacrifice. Freedom truly endures only when memory does.
