The Vigil The vigil will take place in Halifax at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Grand Parade. The vigil in Fredericton will take place inside Alumni Memorial Hall at the University of New Brunswick.

The Vigil Times As with every vigil, the Halifax and Fredericton Vigils run for seven nights, starting at 5:00pm each evening. The first name appears at 5:15pm. Each night’s vigil will be 13 hours long, ending at sunrise the following day. The vigil will then recommence at 5:00pm and run another 13 hours. The last name will appear as dawn breaks on November 11th.

The Halifax Vigil Halifax will help honour those 68,000 men and women who lost their lives by projecting each of their names on St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Grand Parade. These are the Canadians who paid the ultimate price during the First World War.

Between sunset and sunrise, the public is invited to come and reflect on the names that represent each individual contribution to the evolution of Canadian democracy in the place where it all began 250 years ago, and in a city with one of the country’s most illustrious military histories.

The New Brunswick Vigil During the Great War, approximately 27,000 New Brunswickers served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Over 2,400 died in active service; their remains - some identified and some not - are scattered on battlefields and buried in cemeteries in Europe. Their names are carved into monuments away and at home. Many of those who lived to return home to New Brunswick suffered terribly: they had been gassed and physically and/or psychologically wounded.

For those who were left behind, the vigil is a way to bring them home. For all of New Brunswick’s war dead, the vigil is a means to remember them, to honour them, and to contemplate their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families.

The Names The vigil will commence November 4th 2008. More than 9,700 names will appear each night. Each individual name will appear only once during the seven nights. The names include those killed in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Canadian Merchant Navy and the Canadian Army Medical Corps. The names appear in the same sequence in each vigil location.

Searching The Names To find the exact night and time when a specific name will appear, use the Search Names tab located at the top of this page. The names appearing in the vigil will have no order or ranking. Each man or woman was equal in death.

Time Zones This vigil is being presented across 9 time zones. Bear in mind the time difference when viewing a vigil online in another region. For example, the Halifax Vigil will start 4 hours after the London, England Vigil. The Ottawa Vigil will commence one hour after the Halifax Vigil. But wherever you live, the vigil will commence at 5:00pm local time.

Vigil Locations This vigil is also taking place in other Canadian cities and in London, England. You can access these vigils by using the Time Zones, Ottawa or London tabs located above. We encourage you to attend in person or to view the simultaneous vigil presentations created on each region’s webpage.

Nova Scotia and Democracy 250 The Halifax vigil was made possible by the sponsorship of Democracy 250 and through the support of ACOA, Canadian Heritage, the Province of Nova Scotia and St. Paul’s Anglican Church. Please visit www.democracy250.ca and www.d250.ca for more information about the vigil in Halifax.

This year, Democracy 250 is celebrating Nova Scotia’s contribution to Canadian democracy as the birthplace of the country’s very first legislative assembly on Oct. 2, 1758. To celebrate democracy is to commemorate the thousands of Canadian men and women who have fought to defend the rights and freedoms that define our nation.

Democracy 250 has partnered on numerous events designed to honour those who have gone to battle and, in many cases, given their lives, to protect Canadian democracy. It is an opportunity to instill in all Canadians a sense of responsibility to do their part to preserve it for generations to come.

One of the ways Democracy 250 is doing that is by promoting active citizenship, community engagement and the act of exercising one’s right to vote. Another, through initiatives such as sponsorship of projects like The Halifax Vigil, is by encouraging people to simply remember all those whose efforts have helped shape the culture of our nation by ensuring we are free to protest, assemble, speak out, and engage in all forms of worship.

The Fredericton Vigil The New Brunswick Provincial Capital Commission thanks: the Province of New Brunswick, the University of New Brunswick, Canadian Forces Base Gagetown UNB Engineers Without Borders, the Aiken Centre, and the New Brunswick Command Royal Canadian Legion.

Alumni Memorial Hall was built to honour the university’s students, faculty, and alumni who died during both world wars.

The University of New Brunswick’s participation in Canada’s military is an important piece of New Brunswick’s illustrious military history, including the officer training corps; the enlistment of students and faculty; Alexander College, formed to assist in educating demobilised soldiers after the Second World War; or the current Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society, named after Brigadier Milton F. Gregg, VC, a Great War veteran.

The New Brunswick Provincial Capital Commission's mandate is to promote the culture, history and diversity of the capital region as a gateway to the rest of the province. In October 2007, the Capital Commission facilitated the designation of the Provincial Cenotaph, the only one in Canada, in Fredericton, New Brunswick’s capital city.

Educational Opportunities The History Society is helping to organize local schools and community groups to animate all of the vigil sites. If interested in participating in the vigil go to www.historysociety.ca. Teachers are encouraged to explore the educational resources available for classes at the website.

Memory is what makes us human.