Light Horse Park opens officially with ceremony
The Light Horse Park in Old Strathcona officially opened Saturday, six years after breaking ground.
The park is named after the South Alberta Light Horse Regiment (SALHR), which dates back to 1905 and has squadrons in Edmonton and Medicine Hat.
Retired Lt.-Col. Troy Steele said the area where the park is has strong ties to the regiment with the Connaught Armoury, the oldest armoury in Alberta, right next door.
Because the SALHR is a community regiment, Steele said they also wanted the park to be in an area where the community could easily access it.
"We wanted this park to be a place where people, regardless of their faiths or regardless of their particular affiliations in conflicts, could come and reflect on the impacts that they've had on them from whatever country or area that they came from," he added.
The cenotaph rests on a base of soil gathered from every war cemetery in Europe where Canadian soldiers are buried. And over the last two years, two new installations were added in collaboration with the Dutch Canadian Club of Edmonton.
Canadian troops helped to liberate the Netherlands in 1945, and Steele said the regiment shares a strong bond with the Dutch community.
Last year a statue of Anne Frank was unveiled at the park, and in April 2022, a series of five plaques explaining the regiment's history in global conflicts were opened in the park.
The next phase of the park includes building columns at the entry of the park, adding benches, and installing memorial plaques and walls from material rescued from buildings demolished in Old Strathcona.
"This is just basically an area where people can come and relax and be safe," Steele said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.