PM Justin Trudeau in Vimy Ridge for WW1 centennial

VIMY RIDGE, France – The iconic monument at Vimy Ridge served today as a reminder of Canadians’ wartime sacrifice, as Justin Trudeau made another visit to the memorial one day before the world marks 100 years since the end of the First World War.

Walking in one of the cemeteries where Canadians are buried the prime minister and Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan met with veterans and thanked them for their service.

Trudeau told the vets “Canadians remember who you are, what you stand for and the history you defined.”

O’Regan said “We must remember the lesson of these conflicts: that freedom is not free. That it is not easy. Indeed it is hard fought.”

The Vimy monument has become the symbol of Canada’s experience during the “War to End All Wars.”

Some 65,000 Canadian soldiers died during the First World War, between 1914 and 1918, and about 10,500 of them died at Vimy.

The prime minister visited Vimy Ridge last year to mark the centenary of the battle.

Tomorrow, he and more than 60 other world leaders will gather in Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

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