Remembrance Day in Richmond 2026: The City Hall Ceremony, the Cenotaph and the Poppy

Richmond holds one Remembrance Day ceremony, and it is at the cenotaph on the east side of City Hall. For 2026 it falls on Wednesday, November 11, with a parade at 10:20am, the ceremony itself at 10:40am, and two minutes of silence at 11:00am.

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them." Royal Canadian Legion, Richmond

The short version

• When: Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
• Where: the cenotaph on the east side of Richmond City Hall, 6911 No. 3 Road.
• Parade: 10:20am.
• Ceremony: 10:40am.
• Two minutes of silence: 11:00am, followed by wreath laying.
• Cost: free, and open to the public.
• If you cannot attend: the City livestreams the ceremony, and posts the link on its Remembrance Day page.

The ceremony at City Hall

The morning begins with a parade at 10:20am. It includes units of Canadian veterans, members of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada, Richmond's permanent Canadian Forces unit, the 39 Service Battalion, representatives from public safety agencies, and cadet organizations. Browse the Richmond business directory for local businesses.

The official ceremony starts at 10:40am at the cenotaph. At 11:00am there are two minutes of silence, followed by wreath laying.

The City asks that you leave pets at home, out of respect for the occasion. The ceremony is outdoors and it is November, so dress for a cold morning and plan to be standing for the better part of an hour.

Remembrance Day displays presented by the Richmond Museum, the City of Richmond Archives and the Friends of the Richmond Archives will be on display. The event is partially funded by Veterans Affairs Canada's Commemorative Partnership Program.

What the cenotaph is

The City's cenotaph is a monument that serves as a daily reminder to honour those who came from Richmond and died for the country in times of war. It is not a war memorial in the abstract sense. The names on it belong to this city.

If you want to know who those men were, the City of Richmond Archives published We Will Remember Them: The lives behind the Richmond Cenotaph, and there is a virtual exhibit built around it. It is worth an hour before the eleventh, particularly if you are taking children and want the morning to mean something more than a cold walk.

The poppy, and what changed this year

The poppy campaign funds Veterans and their families, and every dollar raised locally stays in the community where it was donated. Close to twenty million dollars goes into the Poppy Fund over a year, much of it during the campaign.

The biggest change for 2026 is the date. The National Poppy Campaign now starts on October 24, which the Legion has made a permanent annual start date. It used to begin on the last Friday of October, so poppies are out roughly a week earlier than people are used to. The campaign runs to November 11.

How you can give, in order of how likely you are to run into it:

• Traditional boxes in shops and Legion branches, still the most common.
• Pay Tribute tap boxes, run with RBC, in hundreds of locations. One tap of a credit or debit card, or a phone or watch wallet, donates $5.
• Point of sale at partners such as Starbucks, which passes local donations to the local branch.
• TD branches, which distribute poppies across the country.
• At the door, through the Legion's Amazon Canada collaboration, now in its third year. This is the practical option if you are nowhere near a branch, and the poppies are biodegradable.
• Online through the Legion's national site.

The Legion also unveils a new donation technology on October 24, which it describes as a first for a national fundraising campaign, and has not yet detailed publicly. It will sit alongside the tap boxes rather than replace them, so nothing you used last year stops working.

One more thing worth knowing: October 24 is simply the earliest date poppies may be distributed. Branches set their own local timing, so a box appearing later in your neighbourhood is normal rather than a problem.

Getting there, and the rest of the day

City Hall is at 6911 No. 3 Road, a short walk from the Canada Line at Richmond-Brighouse. The ceremony is outdoors at the cenotaph on the east side of the building, so give yourself time to arrive before 10:20am if you want to see the parade come in.

Expect crowds and closed or restricted streets around City Hall on the morning of the eleventh. The City posts current road information on its own site, and it is worth checking the night before rather than guessing.

If you cannot stand for an hour, or cannot get there at all, watch the livestream, or attend the simulcast in the Council Chambers where seating is limited and prioritised for people who cannot stand outside. Recordings of past ceremonies from 2022 through 2025 are archived on the City's page as well.

Questions often asked

What time is the ceremony? The parade begins at 10:20am, the ceremony at 10:40am, and the two minutes of silence fall at 11:00am.

Do I need tickets? No. It is free and open to the public.

Can I bring my dog? The City asks that you leave pets at home out of respect for the occasion.

Where exactly is the cenotaph? On the east side of Richmond City Hall, 6911 No. 3 Road.

Can I watch it online? Yes. The City livestreams the ceremony and posts the link on its Remembrance Day page. Recordings of previous years are archived there too.

Where do I get a poppy? From traditional boxes in shops and Legion branches, from the tap boxes in partner locations, at Starbucks tills, at TD branches, online through the Legion, or delivered through the Legion's Amazon storefront. The campaign now opens on October 24.