Heads bowed for a moment of silence at locations throughout Toronto on Saturday as people remembered soldiers who have fallen in service to their country and others currently serving around the world.

Official ceremonies were held at the Old City Hall Cenotaph and Queen's Park, plus several other locations throughout Toronto, including Fort York, the Scarborough Cenotaph, Royal Canadian Legion branches and even the Toronto Zoo.

Small ceremonies of remembrance occurred at 11 a.m. as well. In Scarborough a group of condominium residents near Meadowvale and Hwy. 401 gathered at a flag pole to observe a moment of silence.

At Queen's Park Premier Dalton McGuinty and Lt. Gov. James K. Bartleman attended the first Remembrance Day ceremony at the province's new Veterans' Memorial.

"Today we honour the courage of all Canadian veterans," Bartleman said in a written statement released after the ceremony.

"Those who fought and died, those who came home to build a great nation and those who still stand in harm's way," Bartleman added.

Hundreds of people gathered for two minutes of silence at the memorial site, followed by a 21-gun salute, a reading of "In Flanders Fields," the traditional laying of wreaths and a military fly past.

"Our veterans represent the very best of Canada and while our debt to them can never fully be repaid, we express our everlasting gratitude to those whose sacrifice forged the peace and freedom we enjoy today," McGuinty said in a written statement.

The new Veterans' Memorial is a 30-metre long granite wall with scenes from Canada's military history etched in the stone.

While veterans of previous wars were remembered, soldiers currently serving were also in the hearts and minds of people who gathered during the ceremonies.

At Old City Hall Erin Keating clutched a picture of her brother. Corporal Shane Keating died during fighting in Afghanistan this past September.

"It's just very hard but it's something you have to come and pay respect," Keating said Saturday. "Not just for the guys who are in Afghanistan, but for all of them who were there before."

Seventeen soldiers from Ontario have died in Afghanistan since Canadian Forces deployed to that country in 2002.

Ontario is also home for two of the three surviving veterans of World War I. Dwight Wilson, 105, and Lloyd Clemett, 106, attended a ceremony at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital on Saturday.

With reports from CTV's MairiAnna Bachynsky and Austin Delaney and files from The Canadian Press