‘That’s sad’: Carney government limits provided Remembrance Day wreaths for MPs

Ottawa is limiting the number of Remembrance Day wreaths for MPs to display at cenotaphs to two in minimizing the spending. Abigail Bimman reports.

The federal government is limiting the number of Remembrance Day wreaths for MPs to display at cenotaphs to just two, while the Veterans Affairs Minister’s office tells CTV News the move is not part of the government’s spending review and potential cuts.

CTV News obtained an email sent to MP offices by Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight, saying “Veterans Affairs Canada is pleased to continue the Wreaths for Parliamentarians program in 2025, with a revised format.”

It goes on to say every MP will get two wreaths with a red ribbon that says “Canada.” MPs may order more wreaths, but “additional costs are the responsibility of the requestor.”

An order form attached to the email notes those additional wreaths cost $115, plus shipping costs that “will vary depending on quantities and delivery location.”

For MPs representing large geographical ridings, as many as two dozen wreaths can be needed for display at various cenotaphs and ceremonies in their regions during Veterans’ Week (Nov. 5-11) and Remembrance Day, which could add up to a couple thousand dollars.

“It almost brings me to tears to think that … there’s a government in this country that doesn’t think that’s enough of a priority to make sure that those wreaths are provided,” said Blake Richards, Conservative critic for veterans’ affairs.

Richards says Conservative MPs will pay for additional wreaths as needed out of their MP operating budget but doesn’t think that should be the case.

“The idea of not having a wreath at a Remembrance Day ceremony because the government doesn’t want to pay for it, that’s sad,” Richards told CTV News in an interview.

Richards says this move is part of a “troubling pattern” from the Liberals, citing a similar attempt to limit Remembrance Day wreaths in 2017, and a slow rollout of the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, which was announced in 2014 (when the Conservatives were in government), but isn’t expected to be finished until 2028.

Government departments have broadly been asked to find 15 per cent savings by 2029. A spokesperson for McKnight tells CTV News the new wreath limits are not part of that review. But a statement provided by Veterans Affairs Canada does not make the reasoning clear.

A department spokesperson tells CTV News the wreath program “was updated to more equitably distribute wreaths across regions” and changes are meant to “right-size the program while better supporting Veteran causes in communities across Canada.”

The department did not answer what was wrong with the program that prompted “right-sizing.”