Juno Beach Centre Launches Ambitious $11 Million Capital Campaign to Transform the Museum’s Footprint Alongside Major Donation

As the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy approaches, The Juno Beach Centre (JBC), Canada’s Second World War museum and memorial in Normandy, France is preparing for the future of remembrance with an $11 million dollar capital campaign.

The campaign was launched during the official inauguration of the “Faces of Canada Today” gallery. The announcement was made in the presence of the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Veterans Affairs of Canada, Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Ambassador to France, D-Day Veterans and other distinguished guests.

Led by the Juno Beach Centre Association (JBCA), the campaign will grow, preserve, and expand the reach of this Canadian landmark, helping it to continue to be a model institution in sustainability, and to preserve and steward land in the area.

French and European partners have already offered a combined 1,800,000 € to the campaign. The Ministère des Armées has donated 300,000 € while Région Normandie and REACT EU envisage 1,500,000 €. In Canada, the Arthur J.E. Child Foundation donated $750,000, the largest single gift from a private foundation or family in the JBC’s history.

Two years ago, Canadians helped save the Juno Beach Centre from a condominium development that would have done serious harm to Canada’s memorial presence in Normandy. Over 65,000 Canadians wrote letters to politicians in Ottawa and France with calls to protect the site. The Canadian and French governments and local authorities then secured an agreement to protect the Juno Beach Centre from the development and bring the land under the JBC’s protection. The result of this victory is the development of an initiative code-named “Project Concordia” and led by the JBC in partnership with the City of Courseulles-sur-Mer and various stakeholders.