Burnaby holds two Remembrance Day ceremonies, one in the north of the city and one in the south, both on the morning of Wednesday, November 11. Each is a parade to a cenotaph followed by an outdoor service.

“At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.” Royal Canadian Legion, Burnaby

The short version

When: Wednesday, November 11, 2026, in the morning.
North Burnaby: cenotaph in Confederation Park, hosted by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 148. Parade leaves McGill Library at 10am.
South Burnaby: cenotaph in Bonsor Park at Nelson and Imperial, hosted by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 83. Parade leaves Legion #83, 5289 Grimmer Street, at 10:20am.
Cost: free, and open to the public.
City facilities: City Hall and City arts facilities are closed for the day. Some recreation facilities stay open, so check the individual facility page.

A red poppy wreath against a stone cenotaph in a park with autumn trees and a community centre blurred behind, no people

North Burnaby: Confederation Park

The north ceremony is hosted by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 148 and takes place at the cenotaph in Confederation Park. A parade to the cenotaph begins at 10am from McGill Library at 4595 Albert Street, so the route is a short walk through the Heights before the service. See the full Remembrance Day Burnaby listing and the Royal Canadian Legion Burnaby branches for details.

If you want to watch rather than march, position yourself along Albert Street or at the cenotaph itself before 10am. The service follows the parade, with the act of remembrance and wreath laying at the cenotaph.

A stone memorial with red poppies at its base in a park, a tall apartment building blurred behind, no people

South Burnaby: Bonsor Park

The south ceremony is hosted by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 83 and takes place at the cenotaph in Bonsor Park, at Nelson and Imperial. Its parade begins at 10:20am from Legion #83 at 5289 Grimmer Street, marching to the cenotaph, where the ceremony takes place at about 10:55am.

Bonsor is the easier of the two to reach by transit, and it is the one to choose if you are coming from Metrotown or the Expo Line. Both services are outdoors and both are short, so a cold morning is the main thing to plan for.

A Canadian Legion poppy pin on a green wool coat, four red flocked petals, flat black centre, no leaf, autumn park trees blurred behind

The two cenotaphs

Burnaby does not have a single central memorial. It has two, and which one you attend tends to follow which side of the city you live on. Confederation Park’s cenotaph serves the north, and Bonsor Park’s serves the south, which is why the Legion branches host separately rather than combining into one civic event.

Both services are civic as well as Legion-run, which means uniformed units, cadets, wreaths from local organisations, and the two minutes of silence at 11am.

A red poppy wreath on a wooden bench in a park at dawn, autumn leaves, no people

The poppy, and what changed this year

The poppy campaign funds Veterans and their families, and money raised locally stays in the community where it was donated.

The change for 2026 is the date. The National Poppy Campaign now starts on October 24, a new permanent annual start date. It used to open on the last Friday of October, so poppies are out about a week earlier than people expect. The campaign runs to November 11, and branches still set their own local timing, so a box appearing in your neighbourhood later than the 24th is normal.

How to give:

Traditional boxes in shops and at both Legion branches, still the most common.
Pay Tribute tap boxes, run with RBC, in hundreds of locations. One tap of a card, phone or watch 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, with biodegradable poppies. The practical option if you are nowhere near a branch.
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. It sits alongside the tap boxes rather than replacing them, so nothing you used last year stops working.

Getting there

For Confederation Park, the parade forms at McGill Library on Albert Street and proceeds to the cenotaph. For Bonsor Park, the parade forms at Legion #83 on Grimmer Street and proceeds to Nelson and Imperial, starting at 10:20am. The north parade starts at 10am, so arrive with time to park and walk.

Expect local road interruptions along both parade routes during the morning. City Hall and the arts facilities are closed, and recreation facilities vary, so if you were planning to combine the service with a swim or a skate, check that facility’s page first.

Questions often asked

How many ceremonies does Burnaby hold? Two, one at Confederation Park in the north and one at Bonsor Park in the south.

What time do they start? The north parade leaves at 10am and the south parade leaves at 10:20am, and the services follow at the cenotaphs.

Which Legion branch runs each one? Branch 148 hosts the north service at Confederation Park. Branch 83 hosts the south service at Bonsor Park.

Is it free? Yes, and open to the public.

Is City Hall open? No. City Hall and City arts facilities are closed on November 11. Some recreation facilities remain open.

Where do I get a poppy? From boxes in shops and at both 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.