In May 2000, the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died in the First World War were repatriated from France and, with great ceremony, were buried in a special tomb in front of the National War Memorial in Ottawa. This project began several years ago at the instigation of The Royal Canadian Legion, who developed the idea as a Millennium project, and it was taken up by the Canadian Government under the lead of Veterans Affairs Canada. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was created to honour the more than 116,000 Canadians who sacrificed their lives in the cause of peace and freedom. Furthermore, the Unknown Soldier represents all Canadians, whether they be navy, army, air force or merchant marine, who died or may die for their country in all conflicts - past, present and future. On May 23rd, 2000, a Canadian Forces aircraft flew to France to bring the Unknown Soldier back to Canada. On May 25th, at a ceremony at the Canadian Memorial on Vimy Ridge, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission turned over the remains to Canada. At that point the Canadian Forces took over responsibility for the safekeeping and transport of the soldier's remains. Immediately after the ceremony, the Canadian delegation returned to Ottawa with a casket containing the soldier's remains on board the aircraft. On the evening of May 25th, the casket carrying the remains of the Unknown Soldier was transported to Parliament Buildings, where it was placed in the Hall of Honour in the Centre Block. The remains lay in state there for three days, until the morning of May 28th, so that Canadians could view the casket and pay their respects. In the afternoon of May 28th, the Unknown Soldier was transported from Parliament Hill to the National War Memorial on a horse-drawn gun carriage provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In a ceremony which aired on national television, the Unknown Soldier was laid to rest in a specially-designed sarcophagus directly in front of the War Memorial. | 
