The Memorial was built on Hill 145, the highest point of the ridge[4] to commemorate the battle and the Canadian soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War.

[5][6] The Neuville-St Vaast German war cemetery (also called Maison Blanche) is the largest in France from WWI, with 44,833 buried here.

Vimy Ridge rises from Neuville-St.-Vaast to its high point at Hill 145 (the location of the Canadian Memorial), where there is a steep drop off.

In March 1916, the New Zealand Tunnelling Company relieved the French 7/1 compagnie d'ingénieurs territoriaux in the "Labyrinth" sector of the Western Front.

The German "Labyrinth" stronghold was located near Neuville-Saint-Vaast, between Roclincourt and Écurie and not far from Notre Dame de Lorette.