The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with Statistics Canada to estimate when the last surviving Canadian Second World War veteran will die, internal documents reveal — part of a long-term plan to mark the passing with national honors.Blacklock's Reporter says as of this year, pension data show that only 1,592 veterans from the conflict remain, with an average age of 99. According to projections prepared by the department’s statistics unit, the final death is expected between 2034 and 2038.“This person would be roughly 106 to 110 by then,” read one departmental memo. “If the youngest Second World War veteran was 17 in 1945, that would mean they were born in 1928.”.Emails from 2024 confirm that officials commissioned veteran-specific life tables and annual survival estimates as part of a commemorative strategy.“We are currently working with Statistics Canada to have them produce annual estimated veteran figures and 20-year projections,” one staff member wrote.A comprehensive national tribute is in development, described in planning documents as a response to a “military milestone.” Specific details, including those in a Planning Guidance document, were redacted in released records..The documents refer to the death of John Babcock, the last Canadian First World War veteran, who died in 2010 at the age of 109. Although born in Canada, Babcock never saw combat and later lived in the U.S.; his family declined state honors.Officials noted that the symbolic end of the Second World War generation would represent the close of a significant chapter in Canadian history. “The Second World War is widely regarded as a just war primarily due to the Allies’ commitment to defending democratic values in the face of fascist and Nazi aggression,” the guidance stated..It also emphasized the importance of remembering the moral weight of the conflict. “The full extent of crimes against humanity including the Holocaust became widely known only towards the war’s end, likely reinforcing the moral imperative for Canada and other allies to continue their fight.”More than 1 million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served during the war, a contribution planners acknowledged as proportionally impressive for a country with a population of just 11 million at the time.“It would be a mistake to overestimate Canada’s contribution to the defeat of the Axis powers,” the document added, “but it was remarkable enough to earn the respect of other nations.”
