Petition calls for Canada to officially commemorate soldiers killed in Fenian raids

A new petition set to be presented in the House of Commons is seeking to have those nine men and the dozens who died in the wake of the battle added to the list.

“It really just boils down to Canada recognizing those who died defending it,” said Niagara South MP Fred Davies, who is sponsoring the petition in Parliament.

The text of the petition is below. If you’d like to support this request, you can e-sign the petition here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7642

Petition to the Government of Canada

• The Battle of Ridgeway was fought on June 2, 1866, in what is now Fort Erie, Ontario, by Canadian militiamen defending the territory and people of what would become Canada;
• Nine Canadian militiamen were killed during the Battle of Ridgeway, and additional Canadians later died from wounds or disease contracted during the 1866 Fenian Raids campaign;
• Those who died during the campaign were among the first combat dead of what would become the Canadian Army;
• The service and sacrifice of those Canadians are not presently commemorated in Canada’s Books of Remembrance in the Memorial Chamber on Parliament Hill;
• Canada’s Books of Remembrance already commemorate individuals who died defending territories that became part of Canada before Confederation or before their entry into Confederation; and
• Permanent recognition in Canada’s Books of Remembrance would ensure that the Canadians who gave their lives during the 1866 Fenian Raids campaign are appropriately honoured as part of Canada’s military history.