Over a century after the guns of the First World War fell silent, Canadians continue to remember the 118,000 servicemembers who have died fighting the nation’s wars since Confederation. As we pay our respects, we should also remember what makes Canada worth fighting for in the first place.

On November 11, 1918 at the 11th hour, the Allies signed an armistice with Germany, effectively bringing the Great War to a close. One year later, King George V declared November 11 to be a day of remembrance — originally called Armistice Day — across the British Empire, including in the Dominion of Canada. In 1921, inspired by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields”, the Great War Veterans Association of Canada — a predecessor to the Royal Canadian Legion — adopted the poppy as the o

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