Abbotsford marks Remembrance Day on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, with a ceremony at Thunderbird Memorial Square, hosted by Royal Canadian Legion Abbotsford Branch 15. Everyone is welcome to attend.

“At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.” Royal Canadian Legion, Abbotsford

The short version

When: Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
Where: Thunderbird Memorial Square, on Veterans Way behind Abbotsford City Hall, 32388 Veterans Way.
Host: Royal Canadian Legion Abbotsford Branch 15.
Event begins: 10:00am, with light refreshments at Legion Branch 15 afterwards, and the ceremony livestreamed.
Cost: free, and open to the public.

A red poppy wreath on a stone memorial in a city square with autumn trees and a city hall blurred behind, no people

The parade

The parade is followed by the laying of wreaths at Thunderbird Memorial Square, and the event begins at 10:00am. Members of the public are welcome to line the route and watch as the column passes.

A stone memorial with red poppies at its base in a park, mountains in the distance, no people

The ceremony in Abbotsford

The Remembrance Day ceremony takes place at the cenotaph in Thunderbird Memorial Square. Following the service, the public is invited to Abbotsford Legion Branch 15 for light refreshments, and the ceremony is livestreamed. The service includes the act of remembrance, the Last Post, two minutes of silence at 11am, and wreath laying by local organisations, branches, and cadets. See the full Remembrance Day Abbotsford listing for details.

A Canadian Legion poppy pin on a red wool coat, four red flocked petals, flat black centre, no leaf, a city square blurred behind

Getting there, parking, and road closures

Thunderbird Memorial Square, behind Abbotsford City Hall at 32388 Veterans Way, is centrally located in Abbotsford. Expect road closures and parking restrictions around the cenotaph on the morning of November 11. Arrive early to find parking and secure a good viewing spot.

A red poppy wreath on a wooden bench in a city park at dawn, autumn leaves, no people

The poppy, and what changed this year

The poppy campaign funds Veterans and their families, and money raised locally stays in the community where it was donated.

The biggest change for 2026 is the date. The National Poppy Campaign now starts on October 24, which the Legion has made a permanent annual start date. It used to begin on the last Friday of October, so poppies are out roughly a week earlier than people are used to. The campaign runs to November 11.

How you can give:

Traditional boxes in shops and Legion branches, still the most common.
Pay Tribute tap boxes, run with RBC, in hundreds of locations. One tap of a credit or debit card, or a phone or watch wallet, donates $5.
Point of sale at partners such as Starbucks, which passes local donations to the local branch.
TD branches, which distribute poppies across the country.
At the door, through the Legion’s Amazon Canada collaboration, now in its third year. The poppies are biodegradable.
Online through the Legion’s national site.

The Legion also unveils a new donation technology on October 24, a first for a national fundraising campaign that has not yet been detailed publicly. It sits alongside the tap boxes rather than replacing them.

Flypasts, and why there is no time to give you yet

The Royal Canadian Air Force marks Remembrance Day with flypasts over ceremonies across the country. Routes and times are released only in the day or two before November 11, not weeks out, so no 2026 Lower Mainland route had been published as of late October. Any precise time printed now would be invented.

Be at the cenotaph by 10:15am in case a flypast is confirmed and announced locally in the first week of November.

Questions often asked

What time is the ceremony? The event at Thunderbird Memorial Square begins at 10:00am on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, with two minutes of silence at 11am.

Do I need tickets? No. It is free and open to the public.

Where exactly is the cenotaph? At Thunderbird Memorial Square, on Veterans Way behind Abbotsford City Hall, 32388 Veterans Way.

Where do I get a poppy? From traditional boxes in shops and Legion branches, from the tap boxes in partner locations, at Starbucks tills, at TD branches, online through the Legion, or delivered through the Legion’s Amazon storefront. The campaign now opens on October 24.