MANITOBA COMMEMORATES MERCHANT NAVY VETERANS' DAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2025

September 7, 2025

MANITOBA COMMEMORATES MERCHANT NAVY VETERANS' DAY

SEPTEMBER 3, 2025

“I commend the Province of Manitoba and HMCS Chippawa for its leadership in promoting and commemorating Merchant Navy Veterans’ Day, setting an example for Canada and beyond. I would also like to recognize Dwight MacAulay, whose leadership was instrumental in securing provincial support, and to congratulate him on his most recent appointment as an Honorary Governor of the MNCTP and Regional Director for Manitoba.

"This Manitoba commemoration also serves as an important lead-in to the upcoming national Merchant Navy Veterans’ Day ceremony at the National War Memorial on September 14, 2025.”

— Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and CEO, Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP)

“I am so proud to have been a part of this event today, to declare the first week of September as Merchant Navy Awareness Week in Manitoba. Ordinary citizens chose to risk their lives for the peace and freedom of others and on this 75^th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, let us always remember the bravery and sacrifices of our Canadian Merchant Navy.”

– Mr. Jon Reyes, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (MLA), Waverley, and Manitoba’s Special Envoy for Military Affairs (September 1, 2020)

"Manitoba is marking Merchant Navy Remembrance Day today with a special display of all the flags the Canadian Merchant Navy has sailed under for over a century along with a proclamation to be displayed throughout the month of September in the Legislative Building.

"We owe a tremendous debt to all who served in the Merchant Navy and I am proud that this province is acknowledging and honouring this important and absolutely essential service."

– The Honourable Greg Selinger, Premier, and Ms. Deanne Crothers, Special Military Envvoy, Province of Manitoba (NEWS RELEASE: PROVINCE ANNOUNCES MERCHANT NAVY REMEMBRANCE DAY DISPLAY OPENS TODAY), (September 3, 2015)

OTTAWA / WINNIPEG, SEPTEMBER 3, 2025 – Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP), joined the Province of Manitoba in commemorating Merchant Navy Veterans’ Day and marking the 10th anniversary of the Province’s exemplary support.

Manitoba has demonstrated strong leadership in honouring the Merchant Navy, proclaiming Merchant Navy Awareness Week in both 2015 and 2020, alongside British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia, Alberta, New Brunswick, and Ontario also expressed their support through formal messages, though were unable to issue proclamations due to legislative requirements—Ontario’s Merchant Navy Act of 2017, for example, did not pass.

In both the First and Second World Wars, the Merchant Navy acted as a lifeline to Canada’s troops overseas, carrying desperately needed personnel, equipment, food, fuel, and ammunition to Europe and around the world. Their role was vital to Allied victory.

As we gather on September 3, 2025, for Merchant Navy Veterans’ Day, we honour the wartime sacrifices of Canadian and Allied seafarers while also recognizing the vital contributions of today’s seafarers to global security, defence, and the economy. We therefore call for September 3 to be internationally recognized to honour the Modern Merchant Navy Seamen—extending back to time immemorial—whose service forms the very bedrock of our democratic institutions and the freedoms we cherish today.

During the Second World War alone, Canadian Merchant Navy vessels made 25,343 voyages from North America to Britain, transporting more than 164,783,921 tons of vital cargo. The Royal Canadian Navy suffered more than 2,000 dead and the loss of 24 warships. More than 900 RCAF and Canadian Army personnel were also lost at sea. Over 2,199 Canadian Merchant Navy seamen were killed across both World Wars. In parallel, more than 250,000 American Merchant Marine braved the world’s oceans; over 6,835 were killed, 11,000 wounded, and 604 taken prisoner of war, with 61 perishing in captivity.