Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Industry Minister Tony Clement attended Remembrance Day ceremonies in Kandahar.

They joined representatives of the families of seven deceased soldiers, Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wesa and military commanders in laying wreaths by a cenotaph commemorating the 133 Canadian soldiers who have died as part of the Afghan mission.

Task Force Commander Brig. Gen. Jonathan Vance compared the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan with those of previous generations.

"We are reminded today that former generations have had to fight, have had to endure hardship and have sacrificed to win freedom from Canada and people around the world," he said.

Vance says he hopes the efforts of Canadian troops will help bring about a time when the conflict in Afghanistan is also the subject of remembrance.

Following the ceremony, Vance and MacKay awarded a Sacrifice Medal to Sgt. Vince Adams, who was badly wounded during a previous tour in 2006.

"Soldiers call those the 'forgot-to-duck medal,' not to make light of it," Adams said afterwards.

"For me, the most important thing is those (memorial) books... have my friends who didn't get to have the medal. Maybe it sounds cliche but it's for them that I wear this."

The families of the fallen soldiers met with Canadian and Afghan military leaders. It is the fifth such visit arranged by the military, which aims to help relatives cope with the grieving process.

"It's an emotional, and very healing experience," said Nicole Starker, whose husband Cpl. Michael Starker was killed was killed in a gunfight with Taliban in 2008.