Remembrance Day ceremonies to honour CFB Wainwright fire victims

WAINWRIGHT — Four soldiers killed in a fire during a training exercise are among those being honoured today at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Wainwright, Alta.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is set to attend along with other dignitaries, military members and veterans.

On Oct. 17, a strong wind sent flames from a grass fire racing onto troops at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, southeast of Edmonton.

Pte. Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Sask.; Pte. Aidan Goulding, 23, of North Vancouver; and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, B.C.; and Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton died in the blaze.

Thirty-nine others were injured, and many are still recovering in hospital.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called it one of the worst tragedies for the Armed Forces on Canadian soil during peacetime. Three investigations are looking into what happened.

Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh said the town’s annual Remembrance Day service is expected to be the most solemn one in its recent history.

“It will be different this year just with the weight of what happened,” he said.

“I think it’s a reminder of that willingness and that sacrifice that never stops.”

Poilievre visited Wainwright shortly after the fire and met some of the injured soldiers. He said he heard astonishing stories of bravery.

“The courage of soldiers who literally ran into walls of fire to pull their brothers and sisters out of danger,” he said at the time.

“Soldiers who were burned head to toe in the hospital, some with their vision lost, actually joking around with the nurses to try and make the nurses feel more comfortable.”

Roughly 84 soldiers with the Charlie Company unit of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry were taking part in attack training, when the military says the fast-moving fire basically landed on top of them.

Roughly 300 members of the regiment are set to attend a Remembrance Day service in St. Albert, a bedroom community northwest of Edmonton.

The military says they are to march in a parade to the city’s cenotaph. There will also be a memorial Air Force flypast.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2026.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press