Happy Canada Day!

Last year, I wrote a post about Canada Day, and you can see it HERE.

Canada Day on July 1, and the U.S. Independence Day on July 4 bring Canadians and Americans together to celebrate.  For example, Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, have, since the 1950s, celebrated both Dominion or Canada Day and the United States’ Independence Day with the International Freedom Festival; a massive fireworks display over the Detroit River, the strait separating the two cities, is held annually with hundreds of thousands of spectators attending. A similar event occurs at the Friendship Festival, a joint celebration between Fort Erie, Ontario, and neighbouring Buffalo, New York, and towns and villages throughout Maine, New Brunswick, and Quebec come together to celebrate both anniversaries together.

This year, I’d like to talk a little about Canadian expatriates.  While Canada is celebrating this big day, so are Canadians around the globe!

In Hong Kong, the celebrations are called “Canada De’h” and about 12,000 people attend every year on June 30 at Lan Kwai Fong.

Since 2006, annual Canada Day celebrations have been held at Trafalgar Square—the location of Canada House—in London, England; originally initiated by the Canadian community, endorsed by the Canadian High Commission, and now produced by Canada Day International, the event features Canadian performers, visual artists, a street hockey tournament, among other activities.

In 2013, Canada Day International expanded to New York City with a similar program of food, music, and street hockey in Central Park. They also announced that they planned to expand to more cities before Canada’s sesquicentennial in 2017. They are currently exploring expanding to cities such as; Hong Kong, Mumbai, Paris and Rio de Janeiro among others.

In Afghanistan, members of the Canadian Forces mark the holiday at their base.  And in Mexico, at the Royal Canadian Legion in Chapala, and at the Canadian Club in Ajijic. In Shanghai, China, Canada Day celebrations are held by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai at the Bund Beach.

Our government has created a Canada Day page, and it’s a good page. There’s even a link there from CBC that allows you to watch the celebrations from the capital live!

The Creation of Canada Day
July 1, 1867: The British North America Act (today known as the Constitution Act, 1867) created Canada.

June 20, 1868: Governor General Lord Monck signs a proclamation that requests all Her Majesty’s subjects across Canada to celebrate July 1.

1879: A federal law makes July 1 a statutory holiday as the “anniversary of Confederation,” which is later called “Dominion Day.”

October 27, 1982: July 1, “Dominion Day” officially becomes Canada Day.