Canadian Holiday Canada Day - July 1st

Canada is an incredible place. The country covers a massive area. The landscape changes from province to province.

There are the Rocky Mountains, the extremely flat prairies, the Great Lakes, beautiful maple trees giving us delicious maple syrup, Niagara Falls, the Maritime Provinces serving up yummy Lobster. Canada is infused with different cultures from all over the world and as you travel this great land you will see the diversity.

I love this country and I feel very fortunate to of been born and live here. I wanted to share with you a bit of history and facts on Canada’s birthday July 1^st.  

-          On June 20, 1868 a proclamation was signed by the residing Governor General Lord Monck for all of her majesty’s subjects across Canada to join in celebrations for the formation of the union of the British North American provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1^st.

-          In 1879 July 1^st was established by statute and given the name Dominion Day. 

-          There are no records of any organized celebrations after the 1^st anniversary until 50 years later for the 50^th anniversary of the Confederation which took place in 1917.

-          After the 50^th anniversary there wasn’t another celebration until 1927 for the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation.

-          In 1958 the Canadian government has arranged a July 1^st celebration at Parliament hill with an incredible fireworks display at the end of the day’s celebration.

-          In 1980 the national committee which is responsible for organizing the celebration helped to develop and sponsor local celebrations and festivities all across Canada. In 1981 fireworks were introduced in 15 major cities across the country.

-          In October of 1982 Dominion Day was officially renamed Canada Day because that year Canada became independent of the United Kingdom.

-          There are now committees in each province and territory that look after the organizing of each year’s event.

Canada day is of course a statutory holiday in the country and is celebrated in many different ways.

A lot of people go out to the local celebrations in their town or city which include outdoor games and live music playing into the night and ending with fireworks.

Others might choose to head out to their cottages to celebrate. Every Canada day I like to try to get together with family and friends and have a barbecue and make sure I take a moment to think about the wonderful country I live in.

Here are a few facts about Canada to leave with you

-          Canada has nearly 10 000 000 square kilometres of land mass which makes it the 2^nd largest country in the world.

-          Canada has six different time zones.

-          Population is at almost 34,000,000 as of January 2010.

-          There are over 100 national parks and historic sites to visit in Canada.

-          The Canadian national emblem is the maple leaf which dates back to at least the 1700’s. The maple leaf is on our national flag in the color of red.

-          The capital city of Canada is Ottawa which is located in the province of Ontario.

-          Canada has a lower infant mortality rate than the USA and also a longer life expectancy.

If you would like to find more statistics about Canada you should check out a website called Statistics Canada which is a government managed site. Statistics Canada website