Today is Vimy Ridge Day

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The National Flag of Canada is flown at half-mast on the Peace Tower in Ottawa, from sunrise to sunset Friday, April 9, 2010, to mark the national day of remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

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) W1 Q, a- a6 k( ~1 y4 wIn 2003, the Government of Canada declared April 9 as "Vimy Ridge Day", to honour and remember the battle that took place at Vimy Ridge, France, in 1917, during the First World War.

On April 9, 1917, the Canadians did what other allied forces had so far failed to do – they took Vimy Ridge. At Vimy, regiments from coast to coast saw action together in a distinctly Canadian triumph, helping create a new and stronger sense of Canadian identity. After Vimy, the Canadian corps never looked back, and its success raised our international stature and earned us a separate signature on the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war.


Today, on land granted to Canada for all time by a grateful France, the Vimy Memorial rises above the now-quiet countryside. It stands as a tribute to all who served their country in battle and paid such a price to help ensure the peace and freedom we enjoy today.