B.C. soldier killed in base fire remembered as globe-trotter, car-lover and fearless

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

“They had each other’s backs,” she said. “Their relationship touched my heart deeply, and I was content in knowing that they would always be close.”

Growing up, he showed his competitive and curious side.

His family said in a statement he played many sports, including soccer and rugby, and developed a love for cars at a young age.

He spent many hours buying used cars, fixing them late into the night under the glow of a lamp on his family’s driveway and then reselling them.

The first car he fine-tuned was a used Chrysler 300C.

The modification: make it louder.

“He loved understanding how things worked and took great pride in making them his own,” his family said.

He was also stylish.

Monk said her son asked to wear a white suit on his first day of Grade 4. When he turned 21, he asked for a gold suit.

“He was unapologetically himself, and I admired that,” his mom said.

After he joined the Canadian Armed Forces, Goulding 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.

Reagan Goulding, the soldier’s aunt, said during the funeral that he often made those around him laugh.

She said it’s been hard knowing that he died at a young age.

“This is perhaps one of the hardest parts of losing someone so young,” she said. “It’s not just the memories we have lost, but the opportunity to make a relationship we still had time to build.”

She also remembered the other soldiers killed in the fire alongside Goulding.

They were: Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, B.C.; Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton; and Pte. Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Sask.

“Aidan and his fellow soldiers will not be forgotten,” Reagan said.

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

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

B.C. soldier killed in base fire remembered as globe-trotter, car-lover and fearless

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