Canada’s 2026 Poppy Campaign adds smartphone donations and a Union Station mural, supporting veterans and families ahead of Remembrance Day on November 11

Legion’s centenary campaign introduces another way to support veterans, while thousands of Canadians’ messages form a tribute at Toronto’s Union Station

OTTAWA — Canadians have a new way to support veterans and their families as the Royal Canadian Legion’s 2026 National Poppy Campaign gets underway, combining contactless smartphone donations with a national remembrance initiative marking the organization’s 100th anniversary.

Launched October 24, the campaign runs through Remembrance Day on November 11. Beginning this year, those dates become the campaign’s fixed annual schedule, replacing the previous practice of starting on the last Friday in October.

The new tap-on-phone option allows donors to tap a debit card, credit card or digital wallet against a participating Legion volunteer’s compatible smartphone.

“This is revolutionary for us, and we hope to see it grow,” said Sharon McKeown, the Legion’s Dominion President.

Supported by BMO and using technology from U.K.-based Toucan Giving, the initiative is being piloted at more than 80 Legion branches this year. The Legion says the technology will also be available at its provincial command offices, with plans to expand the branch rollout nationally in 2027.

Remembrance Day 2026 will hold a special place with the recent deaths during a training exercise at Camp Wainwright in Alberta.

Thousands of messages form a tribute to a fallen hockey champion. At Toronto’s Union Station, the Legion has unveiled a four-by-seven-metre mural depicting First World War veteran Allan McLean “Scotty” Davidson.

The portrait is assembled from thousands of handwritten remembrance messages on sticky notes, collected through hundreds of Legion branches. Veterans, families and other Canadians contributed their thoughts to the display.

Davidson captained the Toronto Blueshirts, who won the Stanley Cup in 1914. He enlisted after the First World War began and was killed in action in 1915.

His story connects a celebrated sporting achievement with the loss of a young Canadian who volunteered to serve overseas. Other veterans’ portraits and stories will appear on bus shelters across the country during the remembrance period.

The Union Station mural, part of the federally funded Don’t Forget to Remember centenary initiative, will remain on display until November 13.

Donations support veterans and their families. The Legion says close to $20 million is donated to Poppy Trust Funds throughout the year, with much of that support arriving during the National Poppy Campaign.

The organization says donations collected locally are used locally to support veterans and their families. Poppies are distributed freely, with donations gratefully accepted.

Alongside the new smartphone option, Canadians can participate through:

• Approximately 2,000 RBC-supported “Pay Tribute” tap-enabled poppy boxes across the country.
• Traditional poppy collection boxes and local Legion branches.
• The Legion’s Amazon Canada storefront, where donations of $5, $10 or $20 allow Canadians to receive lapel poppies at home.
• Participating Starbucks locations, which collect donations through their payment systems for local Legion branches.
• Online donations through.

TD branches across Canada will also distribute poppies during the campaign.

Remembrance activities continue through November 11. The National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa will be televised and livestreamed through the Legion’s Facebook page. The Legion is inviting veterans to participate in the Veterans March and encouraging Canadians, wherever they are, to observe two minutes of silence.

In Ottawa, the Virtual Wall of Honour will project a montage of photographs of deceased veterans onto a column of the Senate building.

The Legion’s digital Poppy Drop will also illuminate the Senate building nightly from October 24 through November 11, running from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The display will continue until midnight on November 10 and 11.

At the National Arts Centre, the Kipnes Lantern will feature historic photographs celebrating the Legion’s century of service from November 5–10, between 6 a.m. and midnight Eastern Time. Virtual poppies will appear there on November 11 during the same hours.

Veterans’ Week itself runs November 5–11.

For Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario residents, local Legion branches can provide information about poppy distribution, volunteer opportunities and available donation methods. The smartphone option is a limited rollout, so availability should be checked with the branch.

Readers can find remembrance services through the Legion’s Ceremony Locator and confirm arrangements with the host branch.