Manitoba has joined other Canadian provinces, private and corporate donors, and will provide $25,000 to support the development of the Vimy Foundation Centennial Park in France.
“We are pleased to support the development of a special park at the site of the battle in Vimy, France,” Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Cathy Cox said. “The park is a place where people can pause and reflect on the battle and the sacrifices of brave Canadian soldiers.”
Manitoba will sponsor a centennial bench located at the centre of the Centennial Park and support the education of youth, including Manitoba representatives, who visit and tour battlefields in France and Belgium.
“Manitoba has a proud history of honouring the thousands of soldiers who fought at Vimy Ridge. A memorial to the Manitoba-raised 44th Battalion was first erected at Vimy Ridge in 1917, then moved to Vimy Ridge Memorial Park in Winnipeg,” said Christopher Sweeney, chair, Vimy Foundation. “With Manitoba’s support, the Vimy Foundation Centennial Park will help ensure the honour and memory of the Manitobans and Canadians who fought on the ridge will never be forgotten.”
Over 61,000 Manitobans served overseas in the First World War and nearly 8,000 of them died. Their sacrifice is memorialized at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Vimy Foundation Centennial Park is being built next to that memorial on a four-acre space with 100 special Vimy oaks, planted throughout the park along inter-connected paths that will be lined with special centennial benches.
