Heureux Fête du Canada!

July 1st is the day that Canadians celebrate the anniversary of “Confédération” — the date that the country was first established on July 1st, 1867. Bien que la Confédération a eu lieu en 1867, there was no holiday in honor of Confederation until 1879, when it was first celebrated as Fête du Dominion.

Ces jours, the nation’s biggest Canada Day party a lieu dans 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 Colline du Parlement.

À Vancouver, there are Canada Day festivities at Place du Canada et le Granville Island. Une Défilé de la Fête du Canada marcheront le long de rues Georgia et Thurlow, beginning at 7pm, et fireworks will light up the sky over Coal Harbour after dark.

À Toronto, beaucoup Fête du Canada have unfortunately been canceled this year due to the ongoing city employees’ strike.

Dans Montréal et à travers le Québec, the festivities are known as Célafête et, as elsewhere, include plenty of entertainment and fireworks. There are lots of special events in Calgary et Edmonton, trop.

And if you can’t get to any of the Canada Day festivities in person, vous pouvez vous brancher sur le CBC’s special Canada Day coverage.

Do you have a favorite Canada Day tradition? Laissez un commentaire et nous le faire savoir.

Photo © Carolyn B. Vrai démon