History

In 2005, Jayashree Thampi, who had lost her daughter Preethi Lakshmanan and husband K. Lakshmanan in the Air India bombing, became a driving force for a new memorial in Toronto closer to the waterfront. In the multi-year process dealing with municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government, Thampi worked with government officials as well as in consultation with the Air India 182 Victims’ Families Association towards erecting three new memorials and refurbishing the existing one in Ottawa.

New locations and designs were chosen for Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal to serve the majority of the families and where they lived, while Ottawa’s memorial would be raised off the ground and onto a pedestal with new landscaping.

The original memorial in Ahakista would serve as inspiration for the one in Toronto and, being near a body of water, would be consistent for all four memorials to better reflect the original intention of remembering those lost at sea.

Annual commemorations are still held at each site, with each city differing in their approach from informal speeches to official remarks and representation from High Commissions and the RCMP.