Prince Albert hosts nation’s largest celebration for 75th anniversary of Navy League Cadet Parade
Sep 30, 2023 | 7:15 PM
 
Written by: Logan Lehmann
Photo Credit: Logan Lehmann and paNow Staff
 
Canada’s largest celebration for the 75th anniversary of the Navy League Cadet Parade was held in Prince Albert on Saturday.
Nearly 100 Navy Cadets from Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Regina, Swift Current, and Yorkton were taking part in the celebration that lasts the duration of the weekend.

The largest of the festivities happened on Saturday when the Cadets gathered at the Court of King’s Bench in PA and marched down Central Avenue on to Memorial Square at City Hall.

But this year however, things were a bit different than what the Navy Cadets are used to putting on. Navy League Saskatchewan invited the Prince Albert Indian & Métis Friendship Centre to come walk with them to honour and recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation where a sizeable group wearing orange was seen trailing the Cadets as they made their way to City Hall.

“We started this plan a year ago,” said Rose Mineau, member of the Prince Albert and Saskatchewan Navy League. “When we found out that it was the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we were at a pancake breakfast with all the Cadet cores across the province and we had planned that this would be a great way to incorporate that into the event because this is our community, this is our people, and this is us. We are all one community.”

Saskatchewan was the only province in the country to hold a provincial celebration of the 75th anniversary. Prince Albert’s Navy League Corp was also the first Navy League Corp to be established in Saskatchewan and the fifth in Canada.

Executive Director of the Friendship Centre Janet Carriere shared her thoughts on the walk and said that events like this is what reconciliation is all about.
“This means a lot to me. I think this is how we do get to reconciliation is through Indigenous and non-Indigenous working together and learning from each other,” she said.

The 75th anniversary festivities wrap up Sunday morning with the Navy League Alumni Pancake Breakfast at the Prince Albert Armory.