NATIONAL WAR MONUMENT, OTTAWA, SEPTEMBER 14, 2025: Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and Chief Executive Officer, Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP), was joined by Mme. Marie-France Lalonde, Member of Parliament for Orléans, representing the Government of Canada; Senator Rebecca Patterson, representing the Senate of Canada; members of the Canadian Armed Forces; veterans’ organizations; the diplomatic corps; and the public in observing Merchant Navy Veterans Day at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

On September 3, 2025, Manitoba commemorated Merchant Navy Veterans’ Day, and has long 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. By September 3, 2026, we aim for Merchant Navy Day to be marked in every provincial and territorial capital and formally proclaimed internationally, engaging our Five Eyes partners, and other participating nations, and advancing a United Nations resolution to recognize September 3 as International Merchant Navy Veterans’ Day, ensuring the sacrifices of the Allied Merchant Navy, American Merchant Marine, and modern-day seafarers are honoured worldwide.

An independant Merchant Navy Veterans' Day was also held in Spencer Smith Park, Burlington, Ontario, on September 3, 2025.

This date carries deep historical meaning. On September 3, 1939, the very day the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany, the passenger ship S.S. Athenia was torpedoed by U–30 while on patrol northwest of Ireland. On board were 1,103 passengers, including nearly 500 Jewish refugees, 469 Canadians, 311 Americans, 72 British, and 315 crew. Tragically, 98 passengers and 19 crew were killed, including 54 Canadians and 28 Americans. Among them was Canadian stewardess Hannah Baird. The sinking of the Athenia claimed the first Canadian and American civilian lives of the Second World War.

Throughout the Second World War, the Canadian Merchant Navy made 25,343 voyages from North America to Britain, transporting more than 164,783,921 tons of vital cargo. The Royal Canadian Navy lost over 2,000 sailors and 24 warships, while more than 900 RCAF and Canadian Army personnel were also lost at sea. In total, over 2,199 Canadian Merchant Navy seamen were killed across both World Wars.

The sacrifices of the American Merchant Marine were also profound. More than 250,000 mariners braved the world’s oceans, with over 6,835 killed, 11,000 wounded, and 604 taken prisoner of war—61 of whom perished in captivity.