Question Period Note: LAST POST FUND’S NATIONAL FIELD OF HONOUR

• We are working with the Last Post Fund to ensure that the National Field of Honour remains a solemn place of commemoration.
• The Last Post Fund is an important stakeholder, as the organization delivers the Department’s Funeral and Burial Program and supports Canada’s Veterans and their families.
• The Last Post Fund has asked the Government of Canada to take over the cemetery.
• The Department is in the final stages of required due diligence on this request and will continue working closely with the Last Post Fund.
• The due diligence work is expected to be completed in December 2025.

The Last Post Fund (LPF) was established in 1909 to ensure all military Veterans receive a dignified funeral and burial. The non-profit organization delivers VAC’s Funeral and Burial Program. In 1930, the organization created its own cemetery dedicated to Veteran burials, called the LPF National Field of Honour, in Pointe Claire, Quebec.
VAC is not presently involved in operating or funding the LPF National Field of Honour; however, the Department invested approximately $1.57M in grave marker maintenance at the cemetery from 2018-19 to 2022-23. This was part of the five-year, $24.4M commitment announced in Budget 2018 for Veteran grave marker maintenance. Additionally, VAC has provided funding through the Commemorative Partnership Program to support ceremonies at the cemetery and repairs to the Gate of Remembrance. The Department also supports community war memorial projects for LPF branches across the country.
In March 2020, the LPF wrote to the Minister of Veterans Affairs requesting that VAC “take steps to add the National Field of Honour to the other military cemeteries in Canada which it already owns and operates.” The LPF proposes a gratuitous transfer of ownership of the cemetery and a transfer of any remaining funds in their Perpetual Care Fund (estimated at $900K in January 2025).
As part of its due diligence on this request, VAC sought assistance from Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to conduct a review of the site to determine the investment required to bring it into compliance with regulations for Crown properties. The site assessment took place from 2021 to 2023 and included site operations and management, health and safety, accessibility, heritage and the environment. The final report for this phase was received by VAC in January 2024.
In May 2024, a member of parliament, opened a petition for signature to call upon the Government of Canada to consider making “a full public commitment in 2024 to assume oversight, management and funding of the Last Post Fund National Field of Honour.” The response tabled on 18 November 2024 indicated that VAC will continue working with the LPF to ensure the National Field of Honour remains an appropriate and respectful final resting place for Veterans for many years to come.
VAC continues to conduct due diligence. In 2025-26, PSPC is undertaking the following work: phase three of the environmental assessment, geomatics (survey plan), archaeological opinion, market value appraisal, title search (conducted by Justice Canada), hazardous materials evaluation and water analysis and well inspections. The work is expected to be completed by December 2025
LPF has assured the Department that they would provide their support as needed to facilitate the process. Likewise, VAC reiterated the commitment to keep LPF apprised of any new developments and we work towards ensuring the NFOH remains a respectful final resting place for Veterans.

QUICK FACTS & FIGURES

• There are hundreds of Fields of Honour across Canada (Fields of honour represent a group of Veteran graves).
• NFOH is the largest private military cemetery in Canada.
• Veterans Affairs Canada maintains approximately 250,000 eligible Veteran grave markers in over 7,800 cemeteries across the country.
• In Budget 2018, the Government of Canada announced an investment of $24.4M over five years for Veteran grave marker maintenance. Over 110,000 repairs were made to Veteran graves in cemeteries across the country.
• A portion of the project funding was also used to repair infrastructure at cemeteries with large numbers of Veteran graves, including the Last Post Fund National Field of Honour where VAC invested approximately $1.57M from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
• The additional funding and work completed since 2018 have positioned us well to continue the important task of honouring Canada's Veterans and preserving their legacy. We will carry on visiting the gravesites of Canadian Veterans, inspecting their grave markers, and ensuring they receive the care they deserve.
• VAC owns and operates two small legacy cemeteries — Veterans Cemetery (God’s Acre) in BC and Fort Massey Cemetery in NS — both acquired in the 1940s. The cemeteries and the Grave Marker Maintenance Program are supported by an annual maintenance budget of $1.25 million. No new cemeteries have been acquired by VAC since the 1940s; the NFOH is significantly larger and more complex to operate than existing departmental cemeteries.
• The National Military Cemetery at Beechwood is maintained in partnership with other federal entities; VAC funds only horticultural services through its existing mandate.