On 31 January, thousands of Canadian veterans gathered to protest Veterans Affairs Canada’s [VAC] decision to close eight offices across the country. As early as the First World War, local offices have been the primary point of contact between veterans and the government, allowing hundreds of thousands of ex-servicemen to access VAC’s client services in a direct, timely, and (most importantly) personable fashion. The Canadian government has justified the closures as a cost-saving measure in anticipation of declining demand from clients. The closures, however, will deeply affect thousands of Canadian veterans who frequent these outlets. Saskatoon’s regional office, for example, served some 4500 veterans with a staff of only 14. These men and women will now have to visit their local Service Canada center where a dedicated VAC representative will handle their queries. Prince Edward Island, where VAC’s head office is located, has also lost its regional office, leaving veterans with no direct access to frontline services on the island. Instead, as many as 2,200 PEI veterans’ files have been transferred to two caseworkers in Saint John, NB. The closure of these offices has understandably raised the ire of Canadian veterans and their advocates. To place their discontent in context, we should explore the history and trajectory of VAC and its antecedents.