Remembrance Day ceremony in Halifax moves across harbour due to homeless camp

The Remembrance Day ceremony normally held at Halifax’s Grand Parade is being moved across the harbour because the grounds are being used as a tent encampment for homeless people.

Craig Hood, the executive director of the Nova Scotia branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, said today the ceremony will be moved to Sullivan’s Pond in the suburb of Dartmouth, and the premier, lieutenant-governor and Halifax mayor will shift to that location.

Downtown Halifax’s Grand Parade, an area between the city’s oldest church and city hall, is currently home to an encampment where as many as 20 people are staying in their tents.

Hood says the move was made to respect the people staying in the square, and he describes the situation as “unfortunate.”

The Royal Canadian Legion director says his organization decided Monday it’s unnecessary to displace the homeless population any further, and that shifting the ceremony to Dartmouth is a better solution.

He says it’s important for the public to recall that remembrance is “a state of mind, rather than a specific location.”

2:41 Tent encampment grows outside Halifax City Hall even as winter weather approaches

• Tent encampment grows outside Halifax City Hall even as winter weather approaches
• Halifax senior living in tent finds new home

Previous Video

Next Video

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2023.