A Peace Tower flag will accompany Durham Catholic students on a visit to First World War battlefields in Belgium and France, following a presentation at Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School in Oshawa.
The Durham Catholic District School Board says Oshawa MP Rhonda Kirkland and York-Durham MP Jacob Mantle presented the flag on November 9. Students, educators, trustees, community representatives and tour organizers attended.
The flag had flown at half-mast above Parliament Hill’s Peace Tower on April 9, 2026. Its next journey will connect that act of remembrance with students’ learning about Canadians who served overseas.
Two Durham schools represented
The ceremony included students from Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School and Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School. Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra and Oshawa MPP Jennifer French also attended, according to the board.
The students are participating in the Return to the Western Front Tour, a national educational pilgrimage organized in partnership with WorldStrides. The board says the trip will take them to historic battlefields to honour Canadian soldiers and preserve their legacy.
Students also received Canadian lapel pins to share during their journey. The school board describes the presentation as a way of reinforcing remembrance and Canada’s relationships with its European allies.
Anniversary falls in April 2027
April 9, 2027 marks the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The anniversary is next spring, not this November. The board’s announcement does not give the students’ departure date, a full itinerary or the number travelling.
Durham Radio News also reported on the presentation on November 10. Its account linked the journey to preserving the legacy of the 116th Battalion, which recruited from Durham communities under Lt.-Col. Sam Sharpe.
The new school-board confirmation establishes the presentation’s date and participants. The Peace Tower flag is being entrusted to students for the educational journey, rather than announced as a new permanent school display.
