"WHY WE FIGHT IS TO REMEMBER WHY THEY FOUGHT," JANUARY 21, 2026
"WHY WE FIGHT IS TO REMEMBER WHY THEY FOUGHT"
— BEN HAIGHWAY, CAPE BRETON REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MNCTP, AND
TREASURER, CAPE BRETON NAVY VETERANS ASSOCIATION (CBNVA)
JANUARY 21, 2026
Parade marshal Walter Stewart led the way as veterans, members of the Cape Breton Naval Veterans Association, and local cadets took part in a parade commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic, Sunday outside the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion in Sydney (May 03, 2015)
“Why we fight is to remember why they fought—because remembrance is not ceremony alone; it’s a duty of gratitude we carry forward in our communities. Here in Cape Breton, we honour not only the uniformed services, but also the mariners who kept the lifelines open, and the families who bore the long cost of war. When we remember with purpose, we protect the values they defended and pass their legacy to the next generation.”
— Ben Haighway, Cape Breton Regional Director, MNCTP, and Treasurer, Cape Breton Navy Veterans Association (CBNVA)
(From left) Captain John (Jack) Smith, Stéphane Ouellette, President & CEO, MNCTP, and CSM Bill Ryan at the Canadian Merchant Navy Veterans
Association (CMNVA) AGM in Halifax,
September 2005
“Remembrance is not nostalgia—it’s responsibility. We remember because the stakes were real, the cost was immense, and the values defended—duty, freedom, and human dignity—still require guardians. Why we fight is to remember why they fought: so we do not drift into complacency, and so future generations understand what was preserved for them.”
— Stéphane Ouellette, President & CEO, MNCTP
OTTAWA —The Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP) today reaffirmed its mission to ensure that Canada never forgets those who served—especially the “forgotten service” of the Allied Merchant Navy and the American Merchant Marine—and announced an expanded 2026 direction anchored in a simple truth: why we fight is to remember why they fought—to uphold freedom, defend democratic values, and protect human dignity against tyranny.
For more than three decades, the MNCTP has advanced remembrance through commemorations, education, and multi-stakeholder collaboration across Canada and allied partners abroad. The project continues to elevate the maritime lifelines that supplied our armies, sustained our allies, and helped secure victory—stories that are essential to understanding the cost of peace.
Preparing the next step: Memoria Global
As part of this evolution, the MNCTP is actively developing Memoria Global, a rising organization that will be launched by MNCTP to help scale and modernize remembrance through expanded collaboration, education pathways, and digital engagement.
Memoria Global is being designed to complement the MNCTP’s established work by strengthening the connective tissue between commemorations, partners, and the next generation—helping ensure the stories of service are carried forward with greater reach, consistency, and sustainability.
Canadian Merchant Navy Veteran
Captain (Retired) Earle Stedman Wagner (1923-2023)
- Rembembering Canadian Merchant Navy Veteran Captain (Retired) Earle Steadman Wagner, December 30, 2023
- Captain Earle Wagner Marine Management Award | Dalhousie University |
- Captain (Retired) Earle Wagner, Honorary Governor, Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP)
- Captain Earle Wagner Obituary
THE STORY OF CANADIAN MERCHANT NAVY VETERAN AND PRISONER OF WAR WILLIS MARSOLAIS
ORIGINAL PARLIAMENT HILL HUNGER STRIKER TO OBTAIN MN COMPENSATION
(FROM LEFT): Navy League of Canada Sea Cadet and MNV Willis Marsolais, laying a wreath at the Merchant Navy Veterans' Day Commemoration at the National War Monument, Ottawa, September 3, 2004.
Here's to the Merchant Navy: A song dedicated to Will's Story by Mike MacInnis, Cape Breton Musician
MERCHANT MARINE: A SONG/VIDEO DEDICATED TO THE AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE BY CELTAE
AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE VETERAN, MORRIS HARVEY,
FORMER NATIONAL PRESIDENT, AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE VETERANS (AMMV)
Contact Info
Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP)
Stéphane Ouellette
President and CEO
E-mail: ouellettes@rogers.com
Website: www.alliedmerchantnavy.com
Cape Breton Naval Veterans' Association (CBNVA)
Bruce Haighway
Treasurer and MNCTP Regional Director, Island of Cape Breton
Email:
bthaighway@outlook.com
