Canadian Ranger 75th anniversary rendezvous event set for Victoria Day weekend

Canadian Rangers from across the country will gather in Victoria this month to officially kick off Canadian Ranger 75th Anniversary celebrations. To mark the occasion, a ceremony attended by Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, will take place on May 23.

Canadian Ranger Lindsay Chung 
4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group

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Over the May long weekend, Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers from across the country will converge in Victoria to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group will host the Anniversary Rendezvous, a multi-day event to honour the formal establishment of the Canadian Ranger Corps which began May 23, 1947, on Vancouver Island.

“The Canadian Ranger’s roots go back to the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers, who were formed during the Second World War to provide a military presence that could provide surveillance, conduct patrols, and protect key transportation and communication lines on Canada’s sparsely-populated West Coast,” says Lieutenant-Colonel Lori Payne, Acting Director Canadian Rangers for the Canadian Army. “Since then, the Canadian Rangers have taken their role as ‘the Watchers’ very seriously and have served their communities and their country with pride, providing a military presence in remote, isolated, and coastal locations throughout Canada.”

A formal ceremony featuring dignitaries from across Canada and 100 Canadian Rangers representing all five Canadian Ranger Patrol Groups in Canada will take place on May 23, the official 75th anniversary date.

They will also participate in the Victoria Day Parade and conduct a ceremony at the home of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, the Honourable Janet Austin. At this ceremony, the Canadian Rangers in the form of a 100-person Guard will welcome the Governor General of Canada, Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Mary Simon.

Leading up to the parade and ceremony, 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group’s British Columbia Company will conduct an exercise to highlight their specialities. Over the course of May 21 and 22, they will split into groups and conduct round-robin training that includes helicopter operations, ATV familiarization, boat familiarization, and equine mobility.

The Canadian Army recognizes 2022 as the Year of the Canadian Ranger, with year-long celebrations that include local, regional, and national activities, and initiatives that highlight the past and present contributions of the Canadian Rangers.

Today, more than 5,000 Canadian Rangers serve in more than 200 communities across the country.

“Canadian Rangers are always ready to respond at a moment’s notice, and they continue to make a big impact, whether it’s supporting ground search and rescue operations or working closely with other CAF units and local authorities to respond to natural disasters,” says LCol Payne.

“Since they live in their communities and know the land and the people so well, Canadian Rangers have proven to be extremely valuable to the CAF and to their communities over the past 75 years, preserving and passing on important skills and sharing their knowledge whenever called upon.”

To open the Canadian Ranger 75th anniversary celebrations up to more people, the ceremony will be broadcast to the public through a Livestream on the Canadian Army Facebook page on May 23 from 4:15 to 6:30 p.m. PDT.