Everyone knows about friends, likes and even groups on Facebook that support causes or sheds light on certain situations, but Canada has heightened its use of the social networking platform and continues to see exponential growth in a project that was started over a year ago.

In a few days, the US and the world will celebrate the memory of those who have fought for freedom and justice. There will be numerous parades, luncheons, speeches and honorable recognitions from all around. Canada’s celebration day, termed Remembrance Day, has an alternate life of its own on Facebook with over 250,000 fans on its page called Canada Remembers. There is also a YouTube channel with over 62,000 views of videos that have a remembrance theme.

Initially, the project wasn’t expected to be so successful, but after the initial thrust of fans and its ongoing popularity, the Canadian Veteran’s Affairs Department decided to continue the page, and even beef it up with a new (free) iPhone app that will keep the spotlight on that day.

Canada’s officials are quite savvy at making full use of such a popular social networking platform, and they’re not having to use their taxpayer’s dollars to fund it. When the department received a financial boost last fall of $2.5 million from the Privy Council Office, they immediately found full use of social media tools and how to get some of that attention for their cause.

This was such a smart and creative move by Canada’s Veteran’s Affairs Department, that other governmental departments are using them as a case study on how social media can be effectively used by the government. Many of the departments are developing other creative and socially engaging ways to involve the public in other areas.

Although government has always seemed to be an awkward entity in terms of networking, this idea has proven to be a trendsetter from the Canadian government.