VANCOUVER — A 23-year-old Canadian soldier is being remembered as a globe-trotting, sporty and car-loving man with an infectious sense of humour and a fearless love for life.

A photo of Pte. Aidan Goulding sat in front of the hundreds of military personnel, family, and friends gathered at an armoury on a stormy day Sunday in Vancouver for his funeral.

Goulding is one of the four soldiers who were killed last month after a grass fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta overtook troops during a training exercise.

Thirty-nine others were injured, and many remain in hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary.

Goulding’s funeral started with soldiers carrying his flag-draped casket into the armoury, with the sound of a bag pipe cascading, and some words from a rabbi.

Sonia Monk, Goulding’s mother, described his upbringing in North Vancouver with his brother, Wylder, who was also his best friend.

“They had each other’s backs,” she said.

She said Goulding played many sports, including soccer, and spent hours buying used cars, fixing them on his driveway and then reselling them.

After he joined the Canadian Armed Forces, he felt like he found a place where he belonged.

“It gave him a sense of purpose, a family and a place he truly felt at home,” Monk said.

The family has also described Goulding as a globetrotter.

In his short life, he explored many parts of the world, including Mexico, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Malta, the Netherlands, England and Spain.

The other soldiers killed in the fire were: Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, B.C.; Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton; and Pte. Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Sask.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2026