Davies urges Ottawa to add Ridgeway Nine to Books of Remembrance
October 30, 2026 at 3:42 AM
Niagara South MP Fred Davies asked the federal government in the House of Commons Tuesday to add the nine militiamen killed at the 1866 Battle of Ridgeway to Canada’s Books of Remembrance.
The books on Parliament Hill list Canadians killed in military service since Confederation in 1867, one year after the nine men died at Ridgeway in what is now Fort Erie.
The War of 1812 Book of Remembrance, which has listed more than 1,600 people killed before Confederation since 2019, gives Ottawa a precedent to add the Ridgeway dead, Davies argued.
Davies told the House that many argue the battle against Fenian raiders, who crossed the border from the United States, intensified the talks that led to Confederation.
“We may not be standing here today in this chamber had it not been for the sacrifice of these men,” said Davies.
Davies wrote to Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight in July asking her department to review the case. His office’s release on Tuesday’s statement did not say whether the minister has replied.
Local historian Peter Vronsky said in June the push to list Ridgeway’s dead began at the battle’s 150th anniversary in 2016.
The House of Commons e-petition Davies sponsors on the issue closes to signatures December 5. If it gathers at least 500 signatures, Davies can present it in the House, and the government must respond within 45 days.
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Andrew Hawlitzky
Andrew is a Niagara community journalist who has covered everything from local politics to annual festivals and breaking news. He works to make local news a platform where community voices lead the conversation. "If you don't like the news, go out and make some!"
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