A day in Ottawa and France to mark sacrifices by Canadian soldiers 90 years ago at Vimy Ridge was overshadowed by the deaths of six soldiers in Afghanistan.

"We're celebrating a victory of 90 years ago, but we also remember the six soldiers who continued to serve our country," said Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada's top soldier, in France on Monday.

"We also remember their peers and colleagues, who are still on that mission and do the great work we ask of them."

The Easter Sunday blast in the western part of Kandahar province caused the worst single-day loss of life for Canadian soldiers in more than 50 years.

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean said Monday at the National War Memorial in Ottawa that she was in Afghanistan just a few months ago.

"I was with them and I'm terribly sad, saddened by the news and I'll be with the families," said the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

"My heart breaks. I cry every time a soldier goes. I think it's hard for any mother to lose a child," said Wilhelmina Beerenfenger-Kohler, this year's Silver Cross mother.

She is the mother of Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger, who was killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb in 2003.

In Lille, France, Prime Minister Stephen Harper put out a statement, saying: "The incident that claimed the lives of six Canadian soldiers and injured a number of others took place while Canadian troops were supporting an effort by allied forces to create a safer environment for the reconstruction of this region of Afghanistan.

"Our hearts ache for them and their families and our thoughts and prayers are with them. These events coming on the 90th commemoration of the battle of Vimy Ridge once more remind us of the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform have made and continue to make to defend our country and their fellow human beings."

Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff urged caution in linking the two.

"I think it's right to take pride in our military traditions but we ought to be very, very careful about using them to justify current conflicts. Let's keep them separate," he said.

Harper didn't raise Afghanistan in his Vimy speech Monday. He didn't take any questions from reporters during his two-day stay in France.

Others in the federal government tried to put out the message that the Taliban got lucky.

"Sometimes they put three or four mines on top of each other. Most times it doesn't work," said Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor. "This time we're just unlucky."

Sign of trouble?

Others are portraying the Easter Sunday blast much differently.

They say the explosion that killed six of 10 soldiers inside an LAV-III armoured vehicle is a sign of an enemy that's growing in strength and sophistication.

"It tells you that (the Taliban are) very determined. It tells you that the long-feared spring offensive is probably about to begin, and it shows that they have a pretty good idea of what they need if they're to have any kind of success in this war, which is to make it as costly for Western forces ... as possible," said Rob Huebert of the University of Calgary's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies.

The blast raises the question of whether the drug trade or "outside interests" are helping the Taliban obtain better weaponry, he told CTV Newsnet.

NDP Leader Jack Layton called for major changes in the mission.

"We believe that this mission is not going to be able to succeed in the long run and more and more people seem to be drawing that conclusion. A new approach is needed," he said.

The NDP has held the current approach focuses too much on counter-insurgency and not enough on development.

The Liberals have said the mission should not be extended beyond February 2009.

Huebert said the Taliban's goal is to make the cost so high that the Canadian public gives up and say, "enough already.

"Conversely, it's very important for Canadian leaders to understand, now they are engaged in this conflict, that ... is what they're up against. And they have to make sure the political will remains (so) that they can in fact stay the course."

Canadians shouldn't conclude that because the Taliban may have figured out how to take out a LAV, the war can't be won, Huebert said.

With reports from CTV's David Akin and Graham Richardson