On a sunny September afternoon in Smiths Falls, veterans, community leaders, Royal Canadian Legion representatives, Ottawa Senators alumni and members of the Lépine Apartments team gathered at The Cristina to celebrate something that has become much bigger than a hockey game.
The occasion was the 2026 Hero’s Ridge Reunion and Season Kick Off, presented by Lépine Apartments, an annual gathering that brings together the people and organizations behind one of the Ottawa Senators’ most meaningful community initiatives.
The afternoon began with a guided bus tour of Smiths Falls before guests gathered at The Cristina for a barbecue lunch, remarks from Lépine Apartments, the Ottawa Senators and the Royal Canadian Legion, and an opportunity to tour the Lépine community and reconnect with friends and colleagues.
At the centre of the gathering was Hero’s Ridge, a partnership between Lépine Apartments and the Ottawa Senators that has honoured Canadian Armed Forces veterans since 2015.
At every Senators home game, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran and their family are invited to spend the evening together in Hero’s Ridge, a 200-level box suite at the Canadian Tire Centre. At a designated point during the game, the veteran’s service is recognized before the crowd. Thousands of fans rise from their seats in a standing ovation, transforming an evening of hockey into a powerful public expression of gratitude. More than 500 veterans have now been guests of Hero’s Ridge.
The numbers tell part of the story. The reunion in Smiths Falls demonstrated the other part: the relationships that have developed around the initiative and the importance of bringing veterans, families, community organizations and businesses together away from the arena as well as inside it.
Leanne Cusack, the event’s emcee and a Brand Ambassador for Lépine Apartments, described the gathering as a “hat trick of goodness, grace, and gratitude,” reflecting the partnership between the Royal Canadian Legion, the Ottawa Senators and Lépine Apartments.
Former Ottawa Senators player and current Ottawa Senators Vice President of Business Operations Chris Phillips was among those attending. He spoke about the importance of the partnership and the opportunity to recognize veterans in front of the wider community.
“It’s great to be out supporting Lépine, a great partner of The Ottawa Senators. It’s kind of a three-way partnership with the veterans and our military, which is very close to our heart and the organization. It’s great to be involved with Hero’s Ridge, to show a little gratitude. When we hand them the jersey and see them getting a standing ovation at every home game, that feels great. It’s been a great partnership.”
Joshua Knowles, Community Relations Assistant with Lépine Apartments, also emphasized the importance of bringing the partners and veterans together. “We have representatives here from the Legion, from the Ottawa Senators, and veterans who have been honoured at Senators games in the past. It’s a great group of people gathered here today for this important event and memorable day.”
LEFT TO RIGHT: Ottawa Senators Vice President of Business Operations Chris Phillips and Lépine Apartments President France Lépine address the audience gathered for the 2026 Hero’s Ridge Reunion and Season Kickoff, while Senators player Drake Batherson meets guests and signs autographs.
For France Charlaine Lépine, President of Lépine Apartments, however, the significance of Hero’s Ridge extends beyond recognizing veterans at Senators games. She sees the initiative as an example of what can happen when organizations and individuals take responsibility for strengthening the communities around them.
Lépine said she was “proud and honoured” to be part of the Hero’s Ridge partnership, initiated more than a decade ago, which has honoured more than 500 veterans and involved more than 7,000 family members, friends and veterans.“To see the effect and impact it has had on not only my family, my co-workers, our clientele and the local civilian population at large means a lot to me,” said Lépine, adding, “when we have the will and faith, our perseverance becomes the power to change the world around us.”
That idea of responsibility became the bridge between Lépine’s remarks about Hero’s Ridge and another initiative that she believes could have an equally important impact on Canada: a proposed national youth service program known as Engage Canada.
Lépine told the audience that she believes success comes with responsibility. “Being builders of communities means providing for and supporting causes that hold our larger community together.”She said she was determined, proud and honoured to be part of a civilian group of Canadians encouraging the Carney government to implement a new national youth service program called Engage Canada.
“We need something to arise and awaken and shape up our youth, give them a sense of purpose, of value, build their self-confidence, their sense of national unity, the responsibilities of citizens to know how vast and beautiful this country really is and how blessed they are to be part of it.”
For Lépine, the argument for youth service is not simply about giving young people something constructive to do. It is about connecting them to the country and to one another through shared experience. She pointed to service models in Scandinavian countries and said similar programs exist in 60 other countries around the world, “except Canada.”“Not all young boys and especially young girls have that opportunity today in their present state, condition and upbringings. We want to make this happen, and our nation critically needs it, more than ever and urgently,” said Lépine.
Lépine noted that the veterans gathered at The Cristina, many of whom have been part of Hero’s Ridge over the years, could play an important role in Engage Canada as a bridge to a younger generation and as role models for Canadian youth. Their experience of service, she suggested, should not end with their generation. It can be shared with young Canadians who are looking for a sense of purpose and a better understanding of what it means to contribute to their country.
She asked the veterans in the room to support Engage Canada and consider the role they could play in helping young people discover the values they have spent their lives putting into practice. “To make this a reality we will need a lot of experienced people like yourselves to be part of creating all this. You love a good purpose, and for you to pass on your values and those sentiments you cherish the most to our future generations, our children and grandchildren.”
It is a message that gives Hero’s Ridge a significance beyond remembrance. The initiative does not simply look backwards at the service of Canadians who have worn the uniform. It creates an opportunity for that service and the values associated with it to be understood by another generation.
Lépine believes Canada needs more of those connections. She noted that in Canada today, less than one person in 500 Canadians does any civic, military or related service.“No wonder most Canadians have little touch with the values or even the notion of what it takes to be a country and what it takes to maintain our freedom and liberty,” she said.
She noted that even a relatively short period of structured service could have a profound effect on a young person. “What a formative year of service, even if only one, can provide a young person can be life changing. We need young, organized, disciplined and strong characters in our society. Help us find them; they are often very close to us,” she said.
There is an important distinction between simply teaching young Canadians about citizenship and giving them an opportunity to experience it. That is what makes the connection between Hero’s Ridge and Lépine’s vision for Engage Canada compelling. Hero’s Ridge takes the abstract idea of gratitude for military service and makes it tangible. A veteran enters the arena with family members, is recognized by name and receives a standing ovation from thousands of people. For the veteran, it is a moment of recognition. For the family, it is a moment of pride. For the audience, including young people, it is an opportunity to see that service to the country has a human face.
Engage Canada, as Lépine describes it, would seek to create a similar connection before young people reach adulthood: an opportunity to serve, to contribute, to meet people from different backgrounds and regions, and to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to belong to a country as large and diverse as Canada. In that sense, the veterans at The Cristina were more than the honoured guests at an annual reunion. They represented a living connection between generations. The challenge Lépine put before them was to help ensure that the values associated with service do not end with their generation.
France Lépine’s involvement has helped sustain Hero’s Ridge and keep the service of Canadian veterans visible, valued and remembered by the broader community. Her participation in and support for Engage Canada extends that same philosophy beyond the Senators’ arena.
Hero’s Ridge honours those who have served Canada. Engage Canada is about giving the next generation an opportunity to discover what service to their country can mean for them.
Both begin with the same simple idea: that a stronger country is built when people do more than simply live in a community. They take part in it, contribute to it and take responsibility for one another.
On a sunny afternoon in Smiths Falls, surrounded by veterans, families, community leaders and the people who have helped make Hero’s Ridge a success, that message felt particularly appropriate.
About Lépine Apartments
Lépine is a family owned apartment development and property management company. Conscientious people deserve to live in a home that empowers them to achieve their goals and build a prosperous future for themselves and their families. For over 60 years, we have been pioneers in multi-family real estate, creating new rental markets across Eastern Ontario. The principles of uncompromising quality and strong family values drive us to design and build rental communities that give Canadians, new and old, a place to grow strong and free. Our resort-style rental apartment communities are designed with sustainability and accessibility in mind and offer carefree living in the neighbourhoods you know and love.
Photos: Loukia Zigoumis
