OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney marked a sombre anniversary on Thursday, issuing a statement 12 years after the attack at the National War Memorial and on Parliament Hill that killed Corporal Nathan Cirillo as he stood sentry at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“Twelve years ago today, a deadly attack at the National War Memorial and on Parliament Hill left our capital and our country in shock and mourning,” Carney said in the statement, released October 22, 2026, in Ottawa.
Two soldiers, two attacks
Corporal Cirillo was killed on October 22, 2014, while standing sentry at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and several others were injured in the attack. “At a place where Canada remembers generations of sacrifice, we now remember his,” Carney said.
Two days earlier, on October 20, 2014, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was killed in a separate attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, and another member of the Canadian Armed Forces was injured. Vincent had served nearly three decades in uniform, and Carney said he was targeted for the very service to which he had devoted his life.
“Corporal Cirillo and Warrant Officer Vincent gave their lives to defend the rights and freedoms afforded to us as Canadians,” the statement reads. “We hold their families, friends, and fellow service members in our thoughts. And we recognise the first responders and all those who, in a moment of danger, acted to protect and help others.”
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sits at the base of the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, a short walk from Parliament Hill, and it is where Corporal Cirillo was standing sentry when he was killed.
“They did not change who we are”
Carney closed by saying the attacks of October 2014 “left a lasting mark on our country, but they did not change who we are.”
“In Canada, we take care of one another,” he said. “We honour the service and the courage of the women and men who have answered the call.”
A date that resonates in Surrey
The anniversary resonates in Surrey, where many families count veterans, serving Canadian Armed Forces members and first responders among their own. The city’s large South Asian community also carries a long tradition of military service: soldiers from Punjab served with Canadian and Allied forces in both world wars, and Remembrance Day ceremonies at Legion branches and cenotaphs across Surrey draw large crowds every November.
That sense of connection was visible in Surrey this week. Flags at Surrey City Hall and civic buildings were lowered to half-mast on October 19, 2026, following the tragedy at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, a reminder of how closely losses in uniform are felt here.
Thursday’s anniversary also arrives less than three weeks before Remembrance Day on November 11, when Surrey residents will again gather at cenotaphs across the city to honour Canadians who served and those who did not come home. Carney’s words for the families of Corporal Cirillo and Warrant Officer Vincent speak to that same duty of remembrance: “We hold their families, friends, and fellow service members in our thoughts.”
Sources: Statement by Prime Minister Carney to mark 12 years since the attack at the National War Memorial and on Parliament Hill, Prime Minister of Canada, October 22, 2026 (pm.gc.ca); City of Surrey news item, “Tragedy at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta,” October 19, 2026 (surrey.ca).
