Canada Day

Canada Day festivities return to Saanich with the Gorge Canada Day Picnic. (Black Press Media file photo)

What’s happening in Greater Victoria on Canada Day?

Events return in Saanich and Sooke while making a debut in Langford

Canada Day festivities return to Saanich with the Gorge Canada Day Picnic. (Black Press Media file photo)
People cheer during Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, July 1, 2018. This year will see an “unprecedented and unique Canada Day” with a never-before-seen security posture in the city, says an Ottawa police officer on condition of anonymity at a technical briefing for media on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Ottawa police say this year’s Canada Day will see ‘unprecedented’ security response

Police are aware of demonstrations in the works and are ‘planning accordingly’

People cheer during Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, July 1, 2018. This year will see an “unprecedented and unique Canada Day” with a never-before-seen security posture in the city, says an Ottawa police officer on condition of anonymity at a technical briefing for media on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Fireworks, performances and other multicultural festivities will return for Victoria’s first in-person Canada Day event in three years. (Courtesy of the City of Vicotria)

Victoria Canada Day back with multicultural performances, activities and food

A canoe protocol with local First Nations, fireworks, street market among July 1 events

Fireworks, performances and other multicultural festivities will return for Victoria’s first in-person Canada Day event in three years. (Courtesy of the City of Vicotria)
DJ Shub poses for a photograph at the media wall after winning contemporary Indigenous artist of the year during the 2022 Juno Awards Broadcast at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto, on Sunday, May 15, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

Full-scale Canada Day celebrations to return to Ottawa in new location

Juno Award winners Charlotte Cardin, Chantal Kreviazuk, DJ Shub and Walk Off the Earth scheduled

DJ Shub poses for a photograph at the media wall after winning contemporary Indigenous artist of the year during the 2022 Juno Awards Broadcast at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto, on Sunday, May 15, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
Canada Day events are coming to Starlight Stadium in Langford. (Black Press Media file photo)

Canada Day events coming to Langford

Day of family friendly events being hosted at Starlight Stadium

Canada Day events are coming to Starlight Stadium in Langford. (Black Press Media file photo)
Canada Day celebrations return to the Sooke River Flats on July 1. (File - Sooke News Mirror)

Canada Day celebrations returning to Sooke

Canada Day celebrations will return to Sooke this year after a two-year…

Canada Day celebrations return to the Sooke River Flats on July 1. (File - Sooke News Mirror)
Vancouver Island First Nations and supporters gather near Victoria’s Inner Harbour and at the legislature in the summer of 2021 to honour 215 children who never came home from a Kamloops residential school. Events marking the discovery replaced Canada Day events last year, but traditional city organized events, with heavy First Nations involvement, may return for 2022. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria seeking local First Nations’ involvement in July 1 events; fireworks returning

Canada Day plans still preliminary, more discussions needed before event schedule set

Vancouver Island First Nations and supporters gather near Victoria’s Inner Harbour and at the legislature in the summer of 2021 to honour 215 children who never came home from a Kamloops residential school. Events marking the discovery replaced Canada Day events last year, but traditional city organized events, with heavy First Nations involvement, may return for 2022. (Black Press Media file photo)
Cathie Blanchard won a Canada Day themed a prize pack for her art. (Cathie Blanchard photo)

Nod to View Royal’s logo wins woman Canada Day photo contest

Town logo ‘merged’ with Canadian flag by local woman

Cathie Blanchard won a Canada Day themed a prize pack for her art. (Cathie Blanchard photo)
RCMP looking for information regarding fireworks incident involving a nine-year-old girl at City Park on Canada Day (Black Press Media stock photo)

VIDEO: Girl, 9, injured by firework in Kelowna Canada Day shenanigans

The girl sustained serious, but non-life-threatening injuries

RCMP looking for information regarding fireworks incident involving a nine-year-old girl at City Park on Canada Day (Black Press Media stock photo)
Skies over Fort St. John were ignited by a municipal display of fireworks this Canada Day, despite a province-wide fire ban and 119 wildfires that have recently sparked across B.C. (Instagram/Yvett Michna)

B.C. city defends Canada Day fireworks as province sees moderate-extreme fire danger

‘Towns are burning down and here we are, trying to light ours up,’ says Fort St. John resident

Skies over Fort St. John were ignited by a municipal display of fireworks this Canada Day, despite a province-wide fire ban and 119 wildfires that have recently sparked across B.C. (Instagram/Yvett Michna)
A headless statue of Queen Victoria is seen overturned and vandalized at the provincial legislature in Winnipeg, Friday, July 2, 2021. The statue and a statue of Queen Elizabeth were toppled on Canada Day during demonstrations concerning Indigenous children who died at residential schools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Geraldine Malone

Canada Day protest over residential schools sees monarch statues toppled in Winnipeg

The statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth were tied with ropes and brought down by a crowd that gathered

A headless statue of Queen Victoria is seen overturned and vandalized at the provincial legislature in Winnipeg, Friday, July 2, 2021. The statue and a statue of Queen Elizabeth were toppled on Canada Day during demonstrations concerning Indigenous children who died at residential schools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Geraldine Malone
The Canadian flag on the Peace Tower flies at half-mast on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Peace Tower flag lowered on Canada Day to honour Indigenous children: Trudeau

Trudeau said he made the decision as he and many Canadians reflect on the tragedy of the institutions.

The Canadian flag on the Peace Tower flies at half-mast on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq rises in the House of Commons, in Ottawa on May 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Canada Day comes amid reckoning over the country’s treatment of Indigenous Peoples

For many, July 1 will not be a celebration this year

NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq rises in the House of Commons, in Ottawa on May 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Five discarded flagpoles, property of the Oak Bay Rotary Club and used for Canadian flags through its charitable rental program, lay in the gutter at McNeill Bay. (Photo courtesy Joan Peggs)

Oak Bay homes targeted for Canadian flag thefts ahead of July 1

Oak Bay Rotary Club flag program chair says about 50 of its flags, some poles, removed from lawns

Five discarded flagpoles, property of the Oak Bay Rotary Club and used for Canadian flags through its charitable rental program, lay in the gutter at McNeill Bay. (Photo courtesy Joan Peggs)
Wenona Hall, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley, with kids. (Devon Hall photography) Wenona Hall, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at UFV, with kids. (Devon Hall photography)

Canada Day as seen through an Indigenous lens

‘Canadians need to take the time to learn what it is that we are trying to reconcile’ - Wenona Hall

Wenona Hall, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley, with kids. (Devon Hall photography) Wenona Hall, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at UFV, with kids. (Devon Hall photography)
Despite the absence of city-sponsored events on July 1, VicPD is deploying closed-circuit TV cameras in Victoria on Canada Day. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria police to temporarily deploy cameras on Canada Day

CCTV cameras to be taken down after July 1, signage will notify nearby public

Despite the absence of city-sponsored events on July 1, VicPD is deploying closed-circuit TV cameras in Victoria on Canada Day. (Black Press Media file photo)
Tofino’s annual July 1 Tuff City Skate Competition is taking a break again this year. (Westerly file photo)

Quiet Canada Day for West Coast communities

All the usual Canada Day festivities in Tofino and Ucluelet are nixed

Tofino’s annual July 1 Tuff City Skate Competition is taking a break again this year. (Westerly file photo)
A young new Canadian holds a flag as she takes part in a citizenship ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 17, 2019. It will be a muted Canada Day in many parts of the country as grief and anger over the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools has made it hard for many Canadians to stomach the usual patriotic pomp of July 1. Rather than fireworks, parades and performances, several municipalities say they will mark the national holiday with reflection and solidarity, but Indigenous leaders, advocates and scholars say that’s just the start of broad efforts needed to reframe Canada Day as a reminder of the country’s dark past and present, and what it means to be Canadian. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

‘The truth has been told’: Indigenous leaders call for Canada Day reflection

Rather than fireworks, parades and performances, several municipalities say they will mark the national holiday with reflection and solidarity

A young new Canadian holds a flag as she takes part in a citizenship ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 17, 2019. It will be a muted Canada Day in many parts of the country as grief and anger over the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools has made it hard for many Canadians to stomach the usual patriotic pomp of July 1. Rather than fireworks, parades and performances, several municipalities say they will mark the national holiday with reflection and solidarity, but Indigenous leaders, advocates and scholars say that’s just the start of broad efforts needed to reframe Canada Day as a reminder of the country’s dark past and present, and what it means to be Canadian. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Leader of the Opposition Erin O’Toole is shown on a camera screen as he speaks during a news conference Monday May 31, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

O’Toole pitches Conservatives as Canada Day defenders as more celebrations cancelled

Unmarked grave findings have called into question the appropriateness of holding festivities July 1

Leader of the Opposition Erin O’Toole is shown on a camera screen as he speaks during a news conference Monday May 31, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Town of Port McNeill Community Planning Facebook photo

Port McNeill council apologizes, cancels Canada Day celebrations

Town reverses initial decision to proceed with celebration after community backlash

Town of Port McNeill Community Planning Facebook photo