On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allies began the invasion of Northwest Europe, marking the beginning of the end of World War II. After more than a year of preparation a huge British, Canadian and American force crossed the English Channel aiming for a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast.

About 14,000 Canadians landed in Normandy on D-Day. Estimates vary, but there were over 1000 Canadian casualties, with more than 400 killed. These pictures of Canadians on D-Day show what the Canadians faced on that historic day.

Photo: Canadians Landing on D-Day
Gilbert Alexander Milne / Canada Dept of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-137013

More on Canada in World War II
Pictures of the Raid on Dieppe
Canadian World War II Posters
Canada and World War II Battles
Halifax VE-Day Riots

Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will visit three provinces in Canada from May 21 to 23 on a short Royal tour to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. 2012 marks the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's reign as Queen of Canada. The theme of this tour is "service to Canada," and will focus on Canadians who serve our country in many different ways, including volunteers at hospitals, men and women in the Canadian Forces, peace officers and educators and parents.

Word of Germany's surrender in World War II was met by celebrations across Canada in early May 1945, but in Halifax, Nova Scotia the VE-Day celebrations rapidly turned into riots. The Halifax VE-Day riots lasted for two days as military personnel and civilians roamed the streets, drinking, smashing windows, looting businesses and setting fires.

There have been concerns about the makeup of the Senate and its role since Confederation. The complaints nowadays seem to centre around who gets appointed, how representative it is, and their short work weeks. (The Senate did only sit for 64 days in 2011.) If you ever get a chance to sit in on a Senate committee hearing though, you'll be amazed at the level of discussion. It's usually well-researched, intelligent and just plain interesting. It's a very different exercise than House of Commons committee meetings which feel more like political ping-pong.

The latest effort at Senate reform in Canada is a two-pronged bill which sets fixed terms of nine years for senators, and also provides a voluntary "framework" for provinces to select Senate nominees which the prime minister can consider. It's likely that this approach will also spend some time in legal wrangling over constitutionality.