Calgarians show solidarity in grief at vigil for victims of Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 8:14 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Members of Calgary's Filipino assemblage gathered astatine metropolis hallway connected Wednesday evening to permission flowers and candles, share messages of solidarity, and enactment 1 different portion mourning the tragic deaths that occurred successful Vancouver connected Saturday.

Eleven radical were killed and dozens were injured astatine the Lapu-Lapu Day artifact enactment successful Vancouver connected Saturday aft a car rammed into a assemblage of people. The victims ranged successful property from 5 to 65 years old.

A state away, the calamity deed hard successful Alberta. The lawsuit was meant to observe Filipino-Canadian practice and culture, and roughly 22 per cent of the country's Filipino colonisation lives successful Alberta, according to 2021 census data. 

Sherwin Antonio, 1 of the vigil's organizers, said helium and the remainder of the squad down the lawsuit instantly wanted to make a abstraction for radical to amusement solidarity and acknowledge the gravity of the calamity successful Vancouver.

"The Filipino community's spot and resilience are indispensable successful times of loss," Antonio said. "Violence doesn't specify our community. Our individuality is rooted successful compassion and unity, and healing is simply a corporate journey."

Canadian Blood Services has said appointments are filling up successful Vancouver to donate humor aft the Lapu-Lapu Day event. Antonio encouraged radical successful Calgary and crossed Canada to donate humor arsenic well, if they can, to amusement support.

LISTEN | Local absorption to Vancouver festival tragedy:

Isa Carlin, who lived successful Vancouver for 5 years earlier moving to Calgary successful April, had friends who attended the Lapu-Lapu Day lawsuit connected Saturday who fortunately were not wounded successful the incident. They said mourning and supporting the assemblage since the play has been difficult, but grieving astir others has helped them feel much connected.

"Something that I truly admit with each of the vigils that I've seen, everyplace I've seen, is our absorption connected the collective," Carlin said. 

"We're not abandoning radical to grieve individually, but it's astir our corporate strength."

Consul General Emma Sarne spoke astatine the vigil successful Calgary, saying that she hopes to spot planned celebrations for Filipino-Canadian civilization passim this twelvemonth stay harmless spaces wherever past tin beryllium honoured.

"The Lapu-Lapu festival was meant to beryllium a joyful celebration, a tribute to the bravery of our ancestors and the spot of our heritage. And similar truthful galore Filipino fiestas, it was meant to beryllium unfastened to all," Sarne said.

Nic Nuy, a subordinate of the Filipino assemblage who attended the Calgary vigil, said helium instantly felt fearfulness erstwhile helium heard the quality connected Saturday. His parents precocious moved to Vancouver and helium knew it was precise imaginable they could have attended the festival.

"It truly deed adjacent to location seeing my assemblage get truthful affected by this," Nuy said. "Just seeing the magnitude of mourning that the full Filipino-Canadian assemblage has had, it conscionable felt important for maine to beryllium here."

Nuy added that he's been encouraging radical to scope retired to their Filipino friends and relatives to cheque connected them, and said those who request enactment shouldn't beryllium acrophobic to scope retired arsenic well.

"Even if you can't spell retired and donate humor oregon you conscionable aren't successful the fiscal concern wherever you tin donate money, it's important to get the connection retired there," Nuys said.

"Share their stories, stock however these radical were conscionable trying to person amusive with their assemblage and observe our culture, and calamity struck."