[3] Chosen was Grave 7, in Row E of Plot 8 of the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery in Souchez, France, near the memorial at Vimy Ridge, the site of the first major battle where all four Canadian divisions fought together as a combined force.

[3] On the afternoon of May 28, the body of the unknown soldier was transported to the National War Memorial on a horse-drawn Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) gun carriage.

Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, her husband, and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, as well as veterans, Canadian Forces personnel, and members of the RCMP, were in the funeral cortege.

[2] The original headstone of the unknown soldier is the sole artifact and the focal point of the Memorial Hall exhibit within the Canadian War Museum.

The bronze work—showing a medieval sword, a First World War helmet, and branches of maple and laurel leaves (symbolizing both victory and death)[5]—was designed by Canadian artist Mary-Ann Liu and cast in Roberts Creek, British Columbia.

[9] The Royal Canadian Legion leadership opined that the tomb deserved a military or police guard as a symbol of respect and to protect it from vandalism and desecration.

These demands were brought into focus on the night of July 1, 2006, when Dr. Michael Pilon, a retired Canadian Forces major, photographed three young men urinating on the war memorial shortly after the annual Canada Day fireworks show over nearby Parliament Hill.

On October 22, 2014, a man armed with a rifle shot at the sentries on duty at the tomb, fatally wounding Corporal Nathan Cirillo of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's), before proceeding across the street and into the Centre Block on nearby Parliament Hill.

There, the shooter engaged in a firefight with Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons Kevin Vickers and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which ended when he was killed by RCMP Constable Curtis Barrett.

[10][11] On the weekend of January 29, 2022, individuals participating in the Canada convoy protest against COVID-19 mandates danced on the statue, on the tomb, and parked vehicles on the surrounding grounds.