Vancouver Funeral Held for Soldier Aidan Goulding, Killed in Wainwright Fire

The funeral for Private Aidan Goulding was held in Vancouver on Sunday, November 8, 2026. Goulding, 23, from North Vancouver, was one of four Canadian soldiers killed when a grass fire overtook a live fire training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on October 17. Family, friends and hundreds of military personnel gathered at Seaforth Armoury, The Canadian Press and Global News reported.

His mother, Sonia Monk, began her eulogy by thanking the people who had reached out in the weeks since his death. She called her son her bright light. She described him as fearless and as someone who loved life, Global News reported in its account of the service.

A short service career

Goulding served with the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton. His commanding officer, Captain Jack O'Connell, told the gathering that Goulding was an outgoing, confident and charismatic soldier, Global News reported. Goulding finished his infantry training in July 2026 and was then posted to the battalion. His brother Wylder also spoke at the funeral.

His remains came back to British Columbia on November 4. A motorcade took the hearse from Vancouver airport to a funeral home in New Westminster, and police officers and firefighters lined the route and saluted as it passed under a Canadian flag held up by fire truck ladders, The Canadian Press reported.

The fire on October 17

The soldiers were taking part in live fire exercises at Wainwright as part of training for a possible overseas deployment. A grass fire, driven by strong winds that day, overtook the exercise area. Goulding died along with Sergeant Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton, Private Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and Private Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, British Columbia. Another 39 soldiers needed hospital treatment, according to reporting on the funerals.

The funerals of Wong and Farrell were held in recent weeks. An investigation into the fire is still running. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service leads it, with support from the RCMP, The Canadian Press reported earlier this month.

Why it matters

Four soldiers died in training on Canadian soil, in a fire on a range, before any deployment. Sunday's funeral closed the public round of services for the families, but it did not close the question the investigation has to answer: how a live fire exercise went ahead, and kept going, as a grass fire built in strong winds. The families will wait for that answer. The army will have to give it in public.