Thousands of students from across Canada to take pilgrimage to Vimy
OTTAWA — Thousands of Canadians have started what some are calling a “pilgrimage” to France this week, as the country prepares to commemorate the 100th anniversary of one of its most iconic battles: Vimy Ridge.
Among them are 12,000 students who have studied and saved for months to stand in the shadows of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial when the country stops to reflect and remember this weekend.
Coming from schools and communities across the country, the students are expected to make up nearly half of the 25,000 Canadians that the government believes will be at Vimy for Sunday’s ceremony.
Among those who will be in attendance are 28 students from Bishop Strachan School, a private all-girls boarding school in Toronto, led by history teacher James Stewart.