DON CHERRY WAS RIGHT: Poppy wearing 'very rare' now in Toronto: veteran journalist reveals

Although it is a traditional symbol to wear around this time of year, they are getting more and more sparse, according to veteran journalist Joe Warmington at the Toronto Sun.

He said that If you look at a large crowd of people, you may be able to spot one, but only after you have seen many people not wearing one. The outlet estimated that it is about one in 100.

Cherry was fired after he made comments in 2019 speaking about immigrants in Toronto not wearing the traditional flower during the Remembrance period. He made the comments on a November 9, 2019 broadcast on Sportsnet. He was fired on the 11 after he did not retract his statement.

"I live in Mississauga [Ontario]. Very few people wear the poppy. Downtown Toronto, forget it. Nobody wears the poppy. ... Now you go to the small cities. You people ... that come here, whatever it is—you love our way of life. You love our milk and honey. At least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada. These guys paid the biggest price for that," he said at the time.

Warmington went out to check if people were wearing poppies after he saw a meme on social media supporting Cherry, which said, “It’s November, you people better be wearing a poppy” next to a picture of the commentator.

The veteran jornalist wrote after observed few poppies: “Whether on the Go Train or inside Union Station, or on the platforms, or at the corner of Bay and Front Sts. or Yonge and Dundas Sts., you have to search very hard to find poppy. I counted about 35 in the hour or so I walked around looking for them – that’s out of thousands of people. This is what Don Cherry was afraid of would happen. It has happened. Lest we forget? It feels like many have forgotten.”

The holiday is similar to Memorial Day in the US and honors members of the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP that have been killed in the line of duty.