Canadians congregated Saturday to observe a national day of mourning for victims of the disaster Prime Minister Paul Martin called "a tragedy of a million griefs."

Martin was joined by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, and several hundred politicians, diplomats, religious and ethnic leaders at the interfaith ceremony at Ottawa's Civic Centre.

"In Canada, such is the nature of our country that the impact of Asia's deadly waves echoes here in the grief of those who have lost family members and the anxiety of many who still await word," Martin said Saturday afternoon.

Family members who lost loved ones were flown to Ottawa where they privately met with Martin before the afternoon ceremony, CTV's Rosemary Thompson reported.

"We in developed nations are looking out on the world and our people are coming to grips, some for the first time, with the true disparity of wealth, of promise and, all too often, of fortune and providence," Martin said.

"We have a window on the precarious nature of so many lives. We have a window, and it can be unsettling to look through it."

Representatives from several religious groups, including Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities, lit white candles and offered readings and prayers in honour of the victims.

"We pay our respects to the people who perished in this disaster and convey our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to those who have suffered the loss of their families and friends," said Dr. Ervad Soli Bamji, priest of the Zoroastrian religion.

He called on Canadians to continue donating funds for tsunami relief.

"We the youth in Canada join the young people throughout the world in times of great tragedy and sorrow that has touched thousands of families," said 11-year-old Fiona Marlow who represented the Indo-Canadian community.

"We light this candle of hope to symbolize our faith in humanity as well as the hope and goodness that will surely prevail."

A moment of silence followed Clarkson's address.

Despite seating availability for 15,000, only about 400 members of the public attended the ceremony, Canadian Press reported.

CTV's Roger Smith reported this may have been because members of the public were asked to turn up as early as 9:30 a.m. for security reasons.

"I don't think in any way the lack of turnout suggests a lack of caring among Canadians. We've certainly seen in the last few weeks just how much Canadians do care," he said.

Similar ceremonies were planned across Canada. The Ontario government also held a noon memorial service at Queen's Park and a candlelight vigil was planned for Saturday afternoon in Vancouver.

DART lands in Sri Lanka

Meanwhile Saturday, a plane carrying members of Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, landed in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The 200-member team will provide tsunami survivors with water purification and medical care.
International officials, including Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew, got a close up view on Friday of the devastation from the tsunami in south Asia -- as the death toll surpassed 150,000.

Pettigrew got his first look at the destruction left behind on Phi Phi Island, which is where most of the missing Canadians are believed to have disappeared from.

"I can see where all the water came in," Pettigrew said as he toured in a helicopter.

Earlier he went to the morgue for the Phi Phi victims. It's where Canada's forensic team is working hard to identify the dead. Pettigrew praised Canada's response to the disaster.

"My view is we are doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing," he said.

Five Canadians have been officially confirmed dead and 146 remain missing.

With files from Canadian Press