Vancouver marks Remembrance Day on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, with a ceremony at the Victory Square Cenotaph hosted by the Royal Canadian Legion. Everyone is welcome to attend.

“At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.” Royal Canadian Legion, Vancouver

The short version

When: Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
Where: the Victory Square Cenotaph, 200 West Hastings Street, Vancouver.
Host: the Royal Canadian Legion.
Cost: free, and open to the public.

A red poppy wreath against a stone cenotaph in a downtown city square with tall buildings blurred behind, autumn leaves, no people

The parade

The program begins at 9:45am, and the parade of veterans, military marching units, and bands arrives at Victory Square, at West Hastings Street between Cambie and Hamilton, before the ceremony begins at 10:30am. The main parade then marches west along Hastings Street past the reviewing stand. Members of the public are welcome to line the route and watch as the column passes.

A stone war memorial with red poppies at its base in a city square at dawn, flags at half-mast blurred behind, no people

The ceremony at Victory Square

The Remembrance Day ceremony takes place at the Victory Square Cenotaph, beginning at 10:30am. The service includes the act of remembrance, the Last Post at 11am, two minutes of silence, a 21-gun salute, and wreath laying by local organisations, branches, and cadets. See the full Remembrance Day Vancouver listing for details.

A Canadian Legion poppy pin on a black wool coat, four red flocked petals, flat black centre, no leaf, downtown street blurred behind

Getting there, parking, and road closures

Victory Square, at 200 West Hastings Street between Cambie and Hamilton, is centrally located in downtown Vancouver. Expect road closures and parking restrictions around the cenotaph on the morning of November 11. Arrive early to find parking and secure a good viewing spot.

A red poppy wreath on a stone bench in a downtown park, autumn maple trees, no people

The poppy, and what changed this year

The poppy campaign funds Veterans and their families, and money raised locally stays in the community where it was donated.

The biggest change for 2026 is the date. The National Poppy Campaign now starts on October 24, which the Legion has made a permanent annual start date. It used to begin on the last Friday of October, so poppies are out roughly a week earlier than people are used to. The campaign runs to November 11.

How you can give:

Traditional boxes in shops and Legion branches, still the most common.
Pay Tribute tap boxes, run with RBC, in hundreds of locations. One tap of a credit or debit card, or a phone or watch wallet, donates $5.
Point of sale at partners such as Starbucks, which passes local donations to the local branch.
TD branches, which distribute poppies across the country.
At the door, through the Legion’s Amazon Canada collaboration, now in its third year. The poppies are biodegradable.
Online through the Legion’s national site.

The Legion also unveils a new donation technology on October 24, a first for a national fundraising campaign that has not yet been detailed publicly. It sits alongside the tap boxes rather than replacing them.

A red poppy wreath on a stone step in a downtown city square at dusk, city lights blurred behind, no people

Flypasts, and why there is no time to give you yet

The Royal Canadian Air Force marks Remembrance Day with flypasts over ceremonies across the country. Routes and times are released only in the day or two before November 11, not weeks out, so no 2026 Lower Mainland route had been published as of late October. Any precise time printed now would be invented.

Be at the cenotaph by 10:15am in case a flypast is confirmed and announced locally in the first week of November.

Questions often asked

What time is the ceremony? The Remembrance Day service at the Victory Square Cenotaph begins at 10:30am on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, with the Last Post and two minutes of silence at 11am.

Do I need tickets? No. It is free and open to the public.

Where exactly is the cenotaph? At Victory Square, 200 West Hastings Street, Vancouver.

Where do I get a poppy? From traditional boxes in shops and Legion branches, from the tap boxes in partner locations, at Starbucks tills, at TD branches, online through the Legion, or delivered through the Legion’s Amazon storefront. The campaign now opens on October 24.