Canada Day

Canada Day is a national holiday celebrated in the country annually on July 1. In French-speaking parts of the nation, particularly Quebec, it is called Fête du Canada. A legal holiday, Canada Day is an opportunity for Canadians to express national pride and celebrate their country’s history. It commemorates the 1867 signing of the Constitution Act that combined the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada (which included parts of modern-day Quebec and Ontario) into the nucleus of the country now known as Canada. The day is considered to be Canada’s birthday and celebrated with parades, festivals, fireworks, and picnics. However, some Canadians object to celebrating the day because the viewpoints and rights of the country’s Indigenous peoples were not considered when the provinces were joined.

Background

When the first Europeans arrived in what is now Canada around 1000 CE, they found many Indigenous peoples living on the land. The first serious effort at colonization occurred in 1497, when Italian navigator and explorer John Cabot landed in contemporary Newfoundland. Cabot’s exploration was funded by England, which did not initially claim the land. Instead, the land was mostly colonized by the French, who established what they called New France.

During the Seven Years’ War (1756–63), the British and French Empires fought for global supremacy; their conflict in North America is often referred to as the French and Indian War. The French suffered major defeats, including the loss of Quebec City to the British, and eventually turned all of Canada over to the British at the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Canada came under British rule, and its residents participated in British conflicts throughout the world. Conflict and tension still occurred, however, between English and French colonists who remained in the country; some French ethnic groups, such as the Acadians, faced severe persecution or expulsion. The challenges of handling these conflicts among people so far away from England led to a decision to change how Canada was governed.

The British united the New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada colonies into one, establishing the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. When these areas were colonies, the mother country was responsible for governing, defending, and providing for them. A dominion, on the other hand, is self-governing with its own financial system and responsible for its own defense. With the signing of the Constitution Act—which was known at the time as the British North America Act—Canada was empowered to establish its own Parliament, laws, and system of governance. This change is now commemorated as Canada Day.

Eventually, additional provinces joined the Dominion until it encompassed all the land that is part of contemporary Canada. While Canada was self-governing, it took its time becoming a fully independent country and was not completely free of British rule until 1982. During that year, it adopted its own constitution, free of Britain’s ability to amend or alter it. Canada remains part of the British Commonwealth and has a relationship with the British monarchy that is mostly ceremonial.

Overview

Canada Day was celebrated for the first time on July 1, 1868, the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Constitution Act. The first celebration included the ringing of church bells in Toronto’s Cathedral Church of St. James along with music, bonfires, and fireworks. Celebrations varied over the years, however, as many Canadians continued to consider themselves to be British subjects and saw little reason to celebrate the combination of a few colonies.

In 1879, the day was officially named Dominion Day, but celebrations were still relatively rare. This started to change in 1917 when the country celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of becoming self-governing while also in the midst of the country’s involvement in World War I (1914–18). The country’s new buildings to house Parliament were being built and dedicated to the leaders who made Canada’s nationhood possible. This led to an increased interest in celebrating Dominion Day.

Beginning in 1958 and for ten more years, Canada’s government organized national celebrations, which usually included a flag ceremony along with music played by military bands and fireworks. The one hundredth anniversary celebration on July 1, 1967, included a large celebration at Parliament Hill in the country’s capital of Ottawa that was attended by Queen Elizabeth II. For most of the decade beginning in 1968, a month-long celebration called Festival Canada was held with cultural and sports activities encouraging national pride held in the National Capital Region.

In 1980, the committee in charge of Dominion Day celebrations began encouraging more local celebrations. Start-up funds were provided for some of these activities. The following year saw the first large-scale fireworks displays held in fifteen cities across the country. Then, on October 27, 1982, a few months after royal approval was given to Canada’s independence, the name of the holiday was officially changed to Canada Day.

In the twenty-first century, the day continues to be recognized with local and national celebrations. These typically includes ceremonies using the nation’s red and white flag with a maple leaf, adopted in 1965. Multicultural events are included, as both English and French are spoken in the country. Some of the largest celebrations continue to be held at Parliament Hill and the Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where as many as forty thousand people wearing red and white and carrying flags gather each year. Other celebrations included parades, local and backyard picnics, and the annual performances of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) musical ride, a show featuring thirty-two specially trained horses and riders.

During the early twenty-first century, however, Canadians increasingly voiced concern about the inappropriateness of Canada Day celebrations. A significant percentage of Canadians believed that Canada Day should not be celebrated because First Nations , Inuit, and Métis people were not taken into consideration when the land was colonized or the decision was made for it to become its own country. Opposition to celebrations of Canada Day intensified in 2021 after hundreds of graves were found on the grounds of former boarding schools that housed Indigenous children who were taken from their families in an effort to Europeanize them. Those schools, the last of which closed in 1997, placed the abuses of the Indigenous population and the boarding school system in the spotlight. Others pointed out that it is possible to celebrate what is good about the country while also acknowledging its flaws and past failures and working to prevent them from happening again.

Bibliography

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