Next of Kin Memorial Avenue National Historic Site of Canada

Next of Kin Memorial Avenue was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1992 because:

• it is an excellent example of the “Roads of Remembrance” phenomenon which developed to honour the First World War dead; and
• it is the only such boulevard in Canada to have retained its integrity.

Following the First World War, the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire sponsored and initiated the tradition of planting memorial trees to honour Saskatoon residents killed in the war. Memorial avenues were based on two symbol-laden images. The first was the long, straight, tree-lined roads of France; the second was, as a living memorial, trees symbolizing the victory of life over death. Initially, 265 trees were planted in single rows on either side the avenue. Each tree was planted in individual memory of a deceased First World War soldier and was accompanied by a standardized bronze plaque bearing his name, rank and dates of birth and death. The tradition was later expanded to include tree memorials to casualties of both the Second World War and the Korean War. The cemetery now contains more than 1200 memorial trees, 112 of which are on Next of Kin Memorial Avenue.