As we gear up for our 2026 event, we’re looking back on a successful 2025 event and celebrating the positive impact we’re able to have on the military community thanks to our amazing participants, sponsors and partners.
On September 24, 2025, Navy Bike Ride organizers, sponsors and partners gathered to present a donation of $31,230 to our three charitable causes, the Navalis Foundation (formerly the Royal Canadian Naval Benevolent Fund), Support Our Troops, and Soldier On. These funds will directly support Royal Canadian Navy members, Veterans and their families.
In a presentation during the Naval Officers’ Annual Training at Connaught Range and Primary Training Centre in Ottawa, Rear-Admiral Dan Charlebois, Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, spoke about this year’s successful event and about how important the support of our sponsors is to that success.
“Navy Bike Ride, which happened last June, was a huge success, as it always has been,” he said. “It’s slowly growing and evolving over the years. It wouldn’t be a success if we didn’t have our friends and sponsors who make the event happen and drum up a lot of money for the good causes it champions.”
In 2025, more than 1,000 people took part in Navy Bike Ride virtual challenges and in-person events. Many of those participants took the extra step to fundraise, and during the cheque presentation, we heard about where those donations go – and how impactful they are.
Support Our Troops was established in 2007.
“Since then, Support Our Troops has been assisting military families navigate the unique circumstances of military life, whether that be postings, education, or financial distress,” said Madison MacDonald, Associate Director, Community Development and Strategic Partnerships at Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS). “Truly, the Navy Bike Ride really helps us within that mandate and makes it possible for Naval members to get assistance through these programs.”
Corinna Heilman, Senior Vice-President of Personnel Support Programs (PSP) at CFMWS, explained how the Soldier On program, which is administered through PSP on behalf of the Canadian Armed Forces, is aimed at supporting ill and injured serving members and Veterans.
“It’s based on the foundation that sport, recreation and creative activities enable people in so many ways to fully embrace challenges, opportunities and assist in their journeys of recovery, that are individual to each and every person,” she said. “It’s an incredibly powerful program, and it could not happen without donations and key events like the Navy Bike Ride. Events like the Navy Bike Ride are really more than just standalone physical activity events – they really bring a community together. They bring people into an environment where it’s a shared purpose and where you’re supporting serving members and Veterans.”
Lauren Copeland, board chair of the Navalis Foundation, shared how the organization is going through a rebranding this year, but its commitment to supporting serving and retired sailors and their families will never change.
“New logo, new name; same mandate, same mission,” she said. “We couldn’t do what we do in our organization without events like the Navy Bike Ride. It has allowed us to be able to support currently serving Naval members, their families and Veterans through things like grants to Homes for Heroes, to supporting the Sea Cadets out in Calgary for a navigational simulator for part of their training program. Also, part of our legacy is individual support, so we take that on as well.”
The Navy Bike Ride would not be possible without the unwavering support of our sponsors, including our presenting sponsor, BMO Bank of Montreal, and our co-presenting sponsor, The Royal Canadian Legion, as well as Thales, Veterans Affairs Canada, Lockheed Martin, Canadian Tire, Irving, Commissionaires, Seaspan, and Inside Edge Properties.
Each sponsor received a special coin to recognize their positive impact on military families before presenting a large cheque to the Navalis Foundation, Support Our Troops, and Soldier On.
BMO Bank of Montreal is the presenting sponsor of the Navy Bike Ride and is the official bank of the Canadian defence community.
Omar Abouzaher, Regional Vice-President of BMO Financial Group, who was part of the team that launched the Navy Bike Ride in 2016, noted that events like this are “critical” at this point in time because they elevate the perception of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Naval community in the public eye, and people want to support their Armed Forces right now.
“The Navy Bike Ride is a success story, and it continues scaling up and evolving, and we are very happy to support it,” he said. “I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to my colleagues as sponsors. These events don’t happen by themselves. It takes a community, a village, to keep it alive.”
We extend a heartfelt thank you to all our 2025 participants, sponsors, partners and supporters. We are so excited to build off the momentum we’ve built together and to make an even bigger positive impact on our military community in 2026!
