Home- Canadian Tribute to Human Rights
- Terry Fox Statue
- The Response: National War Memorial
- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
- Reconciliation: The Peacekeeping Monument
- Ottawa Memorial (Commonwealth Air Force Memorial)
- Champlain Statue
- Anishinabe Scout
- Never Again War: Monument to Peace and Remembrance
- Colonel By Statue
- National Aboriginal Veterans Monument
- Never Give Up! (Maurice Richard)
- Reflection: Monument to Canadian Aid Workers
On Sunday, May 28, 2000, during a solemn ceremony, the Unknown Soldier was buried in a special tomb in front of the National War Memorial.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier consists of a granite and bronze sarcophagus placed just to the front (south) of the Memorial. It contains the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier from a cemetery in the vicinity of Vimy Ridge in France, the location of a famous Canadian victory during the First World War. The Unknown Soldier represents the more than 116,000 Canadian men and women who have died in the service of their country, and in particular the more than 28,000 who have no known resting place.
Several days before the ceremony, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission exhumed the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier in France. After a ceremony on May 25 at the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge, the remains of the Unknown Soldier were flown back to Canada in a Canadian Forces aircraft, and lay in state in the Parliament Buildings until the interment ceremony on May 28. During the interment ceremony, soil collected from every province and territory in Canada, as well as from France, was placed on the coffin.
The Tomb itself is made of granite from the Beauce region of Quebec, while the bronze overlay was designed by Canadian sculptor Mary-Ann Liu of Mission, B.C. The Tomb has no other writing on it other than the phrase "The Unknown Soldier" in English and "Le Soldat Inconnu” in French. It is positioned directly in the line of sight of the foremost soldier of the group walking through the archway of the National War Memorial.
Artist and Fabrication Date
Mary Ann Liu (bronze only), 2000
Owner: Public Works and Government Services Canada
Location
Confederation Square, corner of Elgin and Wellington Streets, Ottawa
Directions
Facing Parliament Hill, turn right on Wellington Street. The Memorial is located on the right, in Confederation Square, at the corner of Elgin Street, on Confederation Boulevard.
Related Links