The remains of Cpl. Anthony Boneca returned to Canada at eastern Ontario's CFB Trenton, in a solemn repatriation ceremony attended by the governor general and defence minister.

A Canadian Forces plane carrying Boneca's casket touched down on a rain-soaked tarmac at about 7 p.m. ET.

Eight pallbearers carried Boneca's remains from the plane, before slowly marching towards a waiting hearse as a lone bagpiper played the lament.

Boneca's family, including his parents and girlfriend, Megan DeCorte, then took turns placing flowers on the casket.

The young soldier had known DeCorte since high school.

"They had known each other for seven years and they had been together for about a year-and-a-half," reported CTV's Denelle Balfour.

Gov. Gev. Michaelle Jean and Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor waited with other top officials, including Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Rick Hillier.

Boneca, a 21-year-old reservist, died Sunday in Afghanistan during a long clash with insurgents. He had just three weeks left in his tour of duty.

He was from the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, based in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont.

His body will be taken to Toronto for a standard autopsy, and a funeral is scheduled for Monday in Thunder Bay.

"Any soldier who dies while on a mission and is repatriated, his or her remains ... undergo an autopsy," said Balfour.

Boneca was the 17th Canadian solider to die in Afghanistan.

Unlike some previous repatriation ceremonies, the media were allowed on to the tarmac to record the proceedings. The Conservative government banned the media from the ceremonies in late April, but came under heavy criticism, including from dead soldiers' families.

"There's been sort of a reversal in the position of the Canadian government," said CTV's Denelle Balfour, reporting live from CFB Trenton. "If the family is agreeable to the media being on the tarmac for the repatriation, then we are allowed to be here. The feeling is that some family members are agreeable. They want to give the public a chance to honour those who've served overseas, those who've their lives for Canada."

Reporters were barred from CFB Trenton for Capt. Nichola Goddard's repatriation ceremony in May. But her father, Tim Goddard, criticized the ban during his daughter's funeral.