At precisely 11 o'clock Wednesday morning people fell silent in small communities and big cities across Canada.
Remembrance Day: Watch full CTV News Special Presentation
In Montreal, the Royal Canadian Legion hosted its ceremony on McGill University's lower campus, with thousands of people lining the campus grounds and building balconies.
Military and paramilitary groups marched onto campus, joined by veterans, politicians, and representatives from the U.S. and British Consulates.
Master Corporal Mark Conn, of the Canadian Grenadier Guard, served in Afghanistan.
He was one of many soldiers taking part in the ceremony.
"I've been doing this for eight years, I come every year. It's super important that we remember what Canada has done and what we're doing now and what we're going to do into the future," said Conn.
"Our values and our democracy are super important."
Therese Guerette, the mother of slain soldier Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, laid a wreath at the ceremony in Montreal to remember her son, who was targeted and killed last year in St. Jean sure Richelieu.
High school students took part in the ceremony by creating a field of memorial crosses to remember slain soldiers, and decorated that field with paper poppies.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the poem 'In Flanders Fields,' written by Dr. John McCrae of the Royal Victoria Hospital, students recited the poem during the ceremony.
“It's a beautiful set of words that's describing what Remembrance Day is all about,” said Zoe Heffring of Vincent Massey Collegiate. “These poppies on the field remind us of all the soldiers who passed away. My great grandfather died yesterday morning and he was in the army and it's just a great way to remember him and all the other soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom.”
