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