Happy Canada Day!

July 1st is the day that Canadians cel­e­brate the anniver­sary of “Confederation” — the date that the coun­try was first estab­lished on July 1st, 1867. Although Confederation took place in 1867, there was no hol­i­day in honor of Confederation until 1879, when it was first cel­e­brated as Dominion Day.

These days, the nation’s biggest Canada Day party takes place in Ottawa, with con­certs, cer­e­monies, and a vari­ety of spe­cial events, cul­mi­nat­ing in a gala fire­works show over the Ottawa River. Headlining this year’s musi­cal fes­tiv­i­ties is Grammy Award-​​winning singer Sarah McLachlan, who’s per­form­ing two shows on Parliament Hill.

In Vancouver, there are Canada Day fes­tiv­i­ties at Canada Place and on Granville Island. A Canada Day parade will march down Georgia and Thurlow Streets, begin­ning at 7pm, and fire­works will light up the sky over Coal Harbour after dark.

In Toronto, many Canada Day events have unfor­tu­nately been can­celed this year due to the ongo­ing city employ­ees’ strike.

In Montreal and across Quebec, the fes­tiv­i­ties are known as Célafête and, as else­where, include plenty of enter­tain­ment and fire­works. There are lots of spe­cial events in Calgary and Edmonton, too.

And if you can’t get to any of the Canada Day fes­tiv­i­ties in per­son, you can tune into the CBC’s spe­cial Canada Day cov­er­age.

Do you have a favorite Canada Day tra­di­tion? Leave a com­ment and let us know.

Photo ©Carolyn B. Heller