Canada Day (French: Fête duCanada), formerly Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), is Canada's national day, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united two British colonies and a province of the British Empire into a single country within the empire calledCanada.[1][2][3] Canada Day observances take place throughoutCanada as well as internationally.

Commemoration

Frequently referred to as "Canada's birthday", particularly in the popular press,[4][5][6] the occasion marks the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province ofCanada into a federation of four provinces (the Province ofCanada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867.Canada became a kingdom in its own right on that date,[n 1][8][9][10][11] but the British Parliament kept limited rights of political control over the new country that were shed by stages over the years until the last vestiges were surrendered in 1982 when the Constitution Act patriated the Canadian constitution.[n 2]

Under the federal Holidays Act,Canada Day is observed on July 1 unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case July 2 is the statutory holiday, although celebratory events generally take place on July 1 even though it is not the legal holiday.[12] If it falls on a Saturday, the following Monday is generally also a day off for those businesses ordinarily closed on Saturdays.

History

On June 20, 1868, Governor General the Viscount Monck issued a royal proclamation asking for Canadians to "celebrate the anniversary of the confederation."[13] However, the holiday was not established statutorily until 1879, when it was designated as Dominion Day, in reference to the designation of the country as a Dominion in the British North America Act. The holiday was initially not dominant in the national calendar; up to the early 20th century, Canadians thought themselves to be primarily British, being thus less interested in celebrating distinctly Canadian forms of patriotism. No official celebrations were therefore held until 1917 — the golden anniversary of Confederation — and then none again for a further decade.[14]

In 1946, Philéas Côté, a Quebec member of the House of Commons, introduced a private member's bill to rename Dominion Day asCanada Day.[15] His bill was passed quickly by the House of Commons but was stalled by the Senate, which returned the bill to the Commons with the recommendation that the holiday be renamed The National Holiday ofCanada, an amendment that effectively killed the bill.[16]

Beginning in 1958, the Canadian government began to orchestrate Dominion Day celebrations, usually consisting of Trooping the Colour ceremonies on Parliament Hill in the afternoon and evening, followed by a mass band concert and fireworks display. Canada's centennial in 1967 is often seen as an important milestone in the history of Canadian patriotism, and inCanada's maturing as a distinct, independent country, after which Dominion Day became more popular with average Canadians. Into the late 1960s, nationally televised, multi-cultural concerts held in Ottawa were added, and the fête became known as FestivalCanada; after 1980 the Canadian government began to promote the celebrating of Dominion Day beyond the national capital, giving grants and aid to cities across the country to help fund local activities.

With only twelve Members of Parliament present, eight less than a quorum,[17] the private member's bill that proposed to change the name toCanada Day was passed in the House of Commons in five minutes, without debate.[18] With the granting of Royal Assent, the name was officially changed toCanada Day on October 27, 1982, a move largely inspired by the adoption of the Canada Act, earlier in the year. Although the proposal caused some controversy,[18] many Canadians had already been informally referring to the holiday as Canada Day for a number of years before the official name change occurred.[n 3] Columnist Andrew Cohen called Canada Day a term of "crushing banality" and criticized the change from Dominion Day as being "a renunciation of the past [and] a misreading of history, laden with political correctness and historical ignorance."[23] For Cohen, the change is an example of systemic denial of Canadian history by the Canadian government.[24]

As the anniversary of Confederation, Dominion Day, and laterCanada Day, was the date set for a number of important events, such as the first national radio network hookup by the Canadian National Railway (1927), the inauguration of the CBC's cross-country television broadcast (1958), the flooding of the Saint Lawrence Seaway (1958), the first colour television transmission inCanada (1966), the inauguration of the Order ofCanada (1967), and the establishment of "OCanada" as the country's national anthem (1980). Other events fell on the same day coincidentally, such as the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916  — shortly after which Newfoundland recognized July 1 as Memorial Day to commemorate theNewfoundland Regiment's heavy losses during the battle[25][26] — and the enactment of the Chinese Immigration Act in 1923 — leading Chinese-Canadians to refer to July 1 asHumiliation Day and boycott Dominion Day celebrations until the act was repealed in 1947.[27]

Activities

Most communities across the country will host organized celebrations forCanada Day, usually outdoor public events, such as parades, carnivals, festivals, barbecues, air and maritime shows, fireworks, and free musical concerts,[28] as well as citizenship ceremonies for new citizens.[29][30] There is no standard mode of celebration forCanada Day; professor of International Relations at the University of OxfordJennifer Welsh said of this: "Canada Day, like the country, is endlessly decentralized. There doesn't seem to be a central recipe for how to celebrate it — chalk it up to the nature of the federation."[31] However, the locus of the celebrations is the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario, where large concerts, presided over by the governor general, are held on Parliament Hill, as well as other parks around the city and in Hull, Quebec. The sovereign may also be in attendance atCanada Day celebrations in Ottawa; Queen Elizabeth II was present in 1990, 1992, 1997,[32] and 2010,[33] when more than 100,000 people attended the ceremonies on Parliament Hill.[34][35] The Queen also helped celebrateCanada's 100th anniversary on July 1, 1967.[14] Prince William and his wife are expected to be present onCanada Day, 2011.[34]

Given the federal nature of the holiday, celebratingCanada Day can be a cause of friction in the province of Quebec, where the holiday is overshadowed by Quebec's National Holiday, on June 24.[36] For example, the federal government funds events at the Old Port of Montreal — an area run by a federal Crown corporation — while the parade is a grassroots effort that has been met with pressure to cease, even from federal officials.[37] The nature of the event has also been met with criticism from English Canadians, such as Ottawa Citizen columnist David Warren, who said in 2007: "TheCanada of the government-funded paper flag-waving and painted faces — the 'new'Canada that is celebrated each year on what is now called 'Canada Day' — has nothing controversially Canadian about it. You could wave a different flag, and choose another face paint, and nothing would be lost."[38]

Canada Day also coincides with Quebec's traditional Moving Day, when many fixed-lease apartment rental terms expire. The bill changing the province's moving day from May 1 to July 1 was introduced by a federalist member of the Quebec National Assembly, Jérôme Choquette,[39] in order not to affect children still in school in the month of May.[40]