There is a continued need to provide commemoration activities and resources through the Canada Remembers Program. However, the evaluation finds the program must evolve and expand to meet the needs and expectations of Veterans and Canadians.
3.1 Continued need
The evaluation team confirmed through interviews, analysis of public opinion research, educator feedback evaluations, and program intake that the Canada Remembers Program continues to address a need.
The Canada Remembers Program has two key audiences: Veterans and the Canadian public. Each program component contributes to reaching these audiences by offering and providing support to commemorative and remembrance initiatives and activities throughout the year. Veterans’ Week, held every November, is a key commemorative initiative led by VAC, with many organizations contributing and participating.
The Attitudes Towards Remembrance and Veterans’ Week SurveyFootnote 6 2020 found that 87% of Canadians believe it is important for Veterans’ Week to be held each year. The survey results from 2017-18 to 2020-21 consistently report that over 70% of Canadians make an effort to appreciate Veterans and those who died in service. Activities include wearing a poppy, observing a moment of silence, watching a ceremony on television, and attending a community ceremony.
Every year, VAC sees a significant increase in remembrance participation during Veterans’ Week, and in the lead up to it (i.e., September to November). Increased participation is evidenced in several ways, including:
- Visits to VAC’s Commemoration related web pages usually double in the months of October to December (to over two million visits, with nearly a million to the Canadian Virtual War Memorial).Footnote 7
- Ceremonies and events are hosted national, locally and internationally;
- Nearly four million educational materials are distributed to school-aged children; and
- Approximately 45% of CPP funded community engagement initiatives in 2020-21 took place in September to November, with November being the month with the most initiatives.
When asked what is important to them in terms of remembrance programming, Canadians and Veterans indicated they strongly support raising awareness amongst youth as a top priority. Evidence to support this includes:
- 91% of Canadians attributed importance to providing educational materials for schools in the 2020 Attitudes Towards Remembrance and Veterans’ Week Survey; and
- 2020 VAC Client Survey reported promotion to youth through schools as a priority for raising awareness.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted Veterans’ Week activities in 2020. The 2020 Veterans’ Week survey revealed a drop from 91% participation in 2019 to 72% in 2020 COVID-19 also significantly impacted the number of visitors to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France. Pre-COVID-19, approximately 900,000 people annually visited these two sites. This dropped to 168,000 in 2020-21.
The 2020 Attitudes Towards Remembrance and Veterans’ Week Survey asked Canadians to rate the level of priority the Government of Canada should place on the remembrance initiatives outlined below. In the rating below, respondents chose either very important or somewhat important:
- 91% - Providing educational materials for schools.
- 85% - Supporting and leading commemorative events in Canada.
- 74% - Posting remembrance-related content on social media.
- 73% - Providing funding for commemorative projects.
- 70% - Creating remembrance-related ads.
- 69% - Creating virtual or online remembrance ceremonies.
- 62% - Providing promotional materials, such as posters and pins
- 46% - Supporting and leading commemorative events outside of Canada.
In addition, the continued need for the learning and public information component was highlighted in interviews with VAC staff and feedback from educators. Each year, the Canada Remembers Learning Unit sends a survey to educators who order remembrance materials. In 2019, 1,850 educators completed the survey, 1,300 responded in 2020, and 2,110 responded in 2021. Over the three years, an average of 99% of those surveyed planned to use VAC-produced learning resources again.
The results of the Attitudes Towards Remembrance and Veterans’ Week Survey and the survey of educators demonstrate that Canadians feel Canada Remembers Program initiatives are important and need to continue.
3.1.1 2020-2030 Strategic plan for commemoration
In response to a recommendation in the 2018 Overarching Commemoration Evaluation, VAC developed the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan for Commemoration to inform future remembrance programming. VAC consulted with Veterans, stakeholders, staff and the Canadian public to develop the plan. The vision for Commemoration as outlined in the 2020-30 Strategic Plan for Commemoration is Canadians understand and appreciate the contributions and sacrifices made by those in uniform. All Veterans and their families feel recognized.
As stated in Section 1.0 of this report, the plan outlines four goals. The plan also identifies actions to achieve each goal and sets objectives and timelines for completion. The plan indicates all proposed actions will begin within the first five years of the plan. However, due to the development and implementation of new commemorative content, partnerships and approaches, the plan states that it will take at least 10 years for the strategic plan to be stable and mature enough to achieve full implementation.
The evaluation team noted from a review of documentation, a review of feedback from the Let’s Talk Veterans consultation online platform, surveys and from key informant interviews that changing demographics, advances in technology, and how Canadians are accessing and consuming information means VAC must evolve its programming and delivery to engage with all Canadians.
These factors are recognized in the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan, which notes that:
- Canadian youth are more digitally connected and educated than previous generations. As a result, VAC must continue to embrace new trends and technologies.
- Over 20% of Canadians were born in another country and may have limited or no connection to Canada’s military history.
- Programming needs to adapt to reach more segments of the Canadian population in a way that is relevant to them.
Using the Let’s Talk Veterans online platform, VAC consulted with Canadians, Veterans and their families, stakeholders and others on the future of commemoration and recognition. Questions were generally focused on meaningful ways to recognize Veterans; the commemoration of security; peacekeeping; and humanitarian operations; representing diversity in commemorative programs; and feedback on a CAF Around the World approach. Three key themes from the results emerged:
- Expand scope of remembrance to place greater emphasis on more modern missions and service;
- Highlight diversity as well as shared experiences in service; and
- Educate Canadians, especially youth, through personal and compelling Veteran stories and interactive digital experiences.
The results of these surveys and consultations will assist in refining the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan for Commemoration.
To support the evolution of the Canada Remembers Program, a costed operational plan connected to the strategic vision needs to be developed. The plan should clearly identify key priorities (e.g., 3 to 5), roles and responsibilities, resources required, and oversight and monitoring. Designating key initiatives as departmental projects would allow for project management oversight and support.
3.2 Alignment with government priorities and federal roles and responsibilities
The Canada Remembers Program is aligned with Government of Canada priorities and the roles and responsibilities of the department.
3.2.1 Alignment with Government of Canada priorities
The Government of Canada continues to emphasize its support to Veterans in its commitments to the Canadian public. The 2020-21 and 2021-22 VAC Departmental Plans highlighted priorities that are linked to the following departmental results:
- Veterans and those who died in service are honoured; and
- Canadians remember and appreciate Veterans and those who died in service.
The highlighted activities that are linked to these results included:
- As stewards of Canada’s memorials overseas, including two National Historic Sites of significance (the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and the Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial), continue to make the necessary investments to ensure the preservation and presentation of these memorials for future generations;
- Continue funding groups that lead commemorative initiatives honouring those who served;
- Begin to base our approach to commemoration on the concept of “Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Around the World,” to be more inclusive of the service of younger Veterans;
- Engage Veterans and still-serving members in conversation to better understand how they would like to be recognized and how they want their service remembered; and
- In order to identify new and interesting ways to inspire Canadians to express their appreciation to all those who served Canada, VAC will consult with Canadians to gather a variety of views.
The December 2021 mandate letter to the Minister of Veterans Affairs included a commitment related to commemoration:
Ensure that modern Veterans, as well as women, Indigenous, racialized and LGBT2Q Veterans from all conflicts are recognized and commemorated and that we recognize the valuable contributions of Canadian Armed Forces Veterans who have served our country in domestic operations such as wildfires, ice storms and floods.
The evaluation finds that the Canada Remembers Program helps fulfill VAC’s roles and responsibilities through its commemorative efforts and education of Canadians.
3.2.2 Alignment with Federal Roles and Responsibilities
Under Section 5 of the Department of Veterans Affairs Act and the authority of Privy Council Order 1965–688, the Minister of Veterans Affairs is entrusted with the primary responsibility for all matters relating to the commemoration of the war dead and recognition of the achievements of all Veterans. In October 1951, through Privy Council Order 5371, the Government of Canada assigned VAC responsibility for Canadian Overseas Memorials and Vimy Park. Also, VAC directly supports its commemorative responsibilities through the provision of funding and services to ensure the sacrifices of those who served Canada in war, military conflict and peace are not forgotten. The evaluation team, through document review and interviews confirms that VAC continues to deliver on its mandate through the Canada Remembers Program and that the Program contributes to the department fulfilling its responsibilities.