Sterling Downey, 51, a long-serving city councillor and former deputy mayor of Montreal who is soon to commence basic infantry training after recently enlisting with the Canadian Forces, came to this unusual plan while driving through Philadelphia on the way to Virginia Beach on Memorial Day weekend.

Ultimately, in his heart, joining the Reserve Force as a private while keeping his day job in elected city politics is an effort to honour and reconnect with his late father Ken, a Second World War veteran.