The
Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
ex-service organization (
veteranA veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
s
organizationAn organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
) founded in 1925, with more than 400,000 members worldwide. Membership includes people who have served as current and former military,
Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
, provincial and municipal
policeThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, direct relatives of members and also affiliated members. It was founded in 1925 as the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League and was incorporated by Parliament in 1926. In 1962, Queen Elizabeth II gave the Legion the right to affix the word "Royal" to its name. The Queen of Canada, is royal
patronPatronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
of the Legion; the
Governor General of CanadaThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
is also traditionally appointed as a patron of the group.
Historically the Legion Hall was the social centre of many Canadian towns. This was especially the case in the provinces with
severe restrictions-Comparative consumption:Statistics Canada carries out surveys of alcoholic consumption in Canada, divided by province. Average values for the country are given in the bottom row of the table.-Distribution:...
on the sale of
alcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, rules from which the legions were generally exempt.
Mission statement
"Our mission is to serve veterans and their dependants, promote remembrance and act in the service of Canada and its communities."
Memorial activities
Members of the Legion perform graveside memorial ceremonies for veterans at cemeteries throughout Canada. The Legion also performs ceremonies annually at the gravesites of Canadian and British servicemen interred in the United States, generally on a Sunday in May.
Legion Athletic Camp
In 1962 the Legion began a
summer sports campSummer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
at the
International Peace GardenThe International Peace Garden is a 3.65 sq. mi. park located on the international border between Canada and the United States, in the state of North Dakota and the province of Manitoba. Established on July 14, 1932, the park plants over 150,000 flowers each year...
which is run to this day, and has helped to train over 42,000 school age athletes. Several sports are offered over a five-week period. The program was founded by George Phillips and Fred Taylor (see www.legionathleticcamp.com).
Stained glass
The Institute for stained glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at Royal Canadian Legion, Cornwall Street in
Regina, SaskatchewanRegina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
.
See also
- List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage
- Haig Fund
The Haig Fund is a charity set up in 1921 by Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig to assist ex-servicemen. Today, the Haig Fund continues to support veterans from all conflicts and other military actions involving British Armed Forces up to today. Its members sell remembrance poppies in the...
- The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion , sometimes referred to as simply The Legion, is the United Kingdom's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants.-History:The British Legion was...
- American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
- Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
- Returned & Services League of Australia
- Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association
The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, often referred to as the Returned Services' Association but best known simply as the RSA, is one of the largest voluntary welfare organisations in New Zealand and one of the oldest ex-service organisations in the world.Wounded soldiers...
- Remembrance poppy
The remembrance poppy has been used since 1920 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. They were first used in the United States to commemorate soldiers who died in World War I . Today, they are mainly used in current and former Commonwealth states to commemorate their servicemen and women...
- Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
- Eswyn Lyster
Coral Eswyn Lyster, was a Canadian author best known for writing extensively on the Canadian war bride experience...
- Canadian warbride author
- David Luther Burgess
David Luther Burgess was a World War I flying ace who, in 1926, was the sole challenger to Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in a by-election held in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan....
External links