Little Canada exhibit recreates memorial to fallen troops
IAN STALKER
Little Canada has become bigger, with its latest exhibit a poignant tribute first made available to its guests on a poignant day.
The downtown Toronto attraction — which says its goal is to “replicate Canada in miniature” — unveiled its Little Vimy Ridge exhibit on April 9, a date that has been declared Vimy Ridge Day by the federal government.
Vimy Ridge is the French site where Canadian troops stormed German defences April 9 1917, with one senior Canadian military officer later declaring that it marked the “birth of a nation (Canada).”
The battle led to the deaths of 3,598 Canadian soldiers.
Vimy Ridge today among other things has a towering monument dedicated to the soldiers killed in the fighting.
“The victory at Vimy Ridge inspires and influences Canadians of all generations – it is highly relevant on the world stage today. Many young Canadians have played an important role and demonstrated self-sacrifice in the name of the ideal of a more peaceful world. This was a pivotal period in our history, as we were called to test our moral fiber. Motivated by hope for a better future, the Allies came together to challenge and defeat the formidable German forces at Vimy Ridge in northern France; and their courage and exceptional bravery will not be forgotten,” Little Canada founder Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer said during the unveiling of the exhibit.
“The creation of our Little Vimy Ridge lends the important opportunity to tell the stories of Canadians you may never have heard. Stories that allow us to connect the past to our present – and to our future, to inspire our guests to feel more connected to Canada and to Canadians to whom we owe so much gratitude.”
The Little Canada exhibit features a miniature replica of what awaits those who visit the Vimy Ridge tribute in France, which among other things lists the names of some 11,285 unidentified Canadian troops buried in French graves.
“Those viewing the exhibit will see a miniature recreation of Vimy Memorial Monument, the Vimy Visitors Education Centre which features the peace garden and the preserved trenches, and Centennial Park and surrounding area featuring a grove with concentric circles of oak trees forming allées: 1 circle for each Canadian division that fought at Vimy, and even a nod to the sheep that trim the grass on the terrain,” Little Canada says.
The exhibit will be on display in Toronto through 2025, after which it will tour.
“Our intention is ultimately it will find its way back home (to Toronto), but imagine the impact that seeing this will have in other parts of Canada,” said Little Canada president Brad Ford.
The gathering also saw two members of the Vimy Foundation — Caroline Tolton and Heena Singla — speak, with Tolton labelling Vimy Ridge an “important and defining part of our history,” while Singla said that “together we can honour the sacrifices of the past.”
Patrick McCalmont of Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. — a supporter of the Vimy Ridge exhibit — in turn told the gathering that “Canada came of age” during that conflict.
Little Canada exhibits now feature parts of the Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. It next plans to add an exhibit on Indigenous peoples, followed by one on the 3 northern territories.
