50 Fun Facts About Canada Day

On which date is Canada Day celebrated?

It marks the anniversary of Confederation in 1867, when three British colonies were united into a single dominion.

In which year did Canadian Confederation take place?

The British North America Act came into force that summer, and bells rang at St James Cathedral in Toronto to mark it.

How many colonies united to form Canada at Confederation?

The United Canadas, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick joined; the Province of Canada split into Ontario and Quebec, making four provinces.

Which act patriated the constitution and cut the last legal ties to Westminster?

The constitution was patriated the same year the holiday was renamed.

When the holiday falls on a Sunday, which day becomes the statutory holiday?

Celebrations still happen on July 1 itself; the federal Holidays Act simply moves the legal day off.

Which Quebec MP introduced a 1946 bill to rename Dominion Day as Canada Day?

The Commons passed it quickly, but the Senate's counter-proposal of 'The National Holiday of Canada' effectively killed the bill.

In which year was Dominion Day first established as a statutory holiday?

The governor general had asked Canadians to celebrate the anniversary back in 1868, but the law came a decade later.

Which prime minister had the government start organizing Dominion Day events in 1958?

He handed the job to Secretary of State Ellen Fairclough, with a budget of $14,000.

Which woman organized the first federally run Dominion Day celebrations in 1958?

She persuaded the whole cabinet to attend, though Parliament traditionally sat on July 1.

Canada's centennial celebrations took place in which year?

The centennial is seen as a turning point after which the holiday became far more popular with ordinary Canadians.

What name was given to the televised multicultural concerts in Ottawa in the late 1960s?

After 1980 Ottawa began funding local celebrations across the country rather than just in the capital.

How many MPs were present when the 1982 renaming bill passed the Commons?

That was eight short of quorum, but the rule is only enforced if someone calls attention to it; the bill passed in five minutes.

How long did the Commons take to pass the 1982 bill renaming the holiday?

There was no debate, which prompted grumbling about the underhandedness of the process.

When was the holiday first celebrated under the name Canada Day?

Royal assent came on October 27, 1982, too late for that year's celebration.

Which novelist was among those who decried the 1982 name change?

Critics saw dropping 'Dominion' as an unnecessary break with tradition.

Which columnist called Canada Day a term of "crushing banality"?

He described the new name as a renunciation of the past laden with political correctness.

"O Canada" officially became the national anthem on July 1 of which year?

The National Anthem Act took effect as part of that year's Dominion Day celebrations.

The Order of Canada was inaugurated on Dominion Day of which year?

Governor General Roland Michener was the first inductee, at the level of Companion.

Which railway linked the first coast-to-coast radio hookup on July 1, 1927?

Dominion Day became a favoured date for national firsts, including Canada's first colour TV transmission in 1966.

In which year did Canada see its first colour television transmission, on Dominion Day?

The CBC's first cross-country television broadcast had come on the same holiday eight years earlier.

Which governor general gave the Dominion Day speech in the CBC's first cross-country TV broadcast?

That 1958 broadcast came from Parliament Hill, the same year the Saint Lawrence Seaway was flooded.

What did the Bank of Canada release for the 2017 sesquicentennial?

The commemorative note was expected to be widely available by Canada Day that year.

Where were Ottawa's in-person Canada Day festivities relocated in 2022?

Construction for the Parliament Hill Rehabilitation project forced the move off the Hill.

In which year was the Quebec Moving Day bill that shifted it to July 1 introduced?

Federalist MNA Jérôme Choquette moved it from May 1 so children still in school would not be uprooted in May.

Which WWI battle began on July 1, 1916, a date one future province marks as Memorial Day?

The Newfoundland Regiment suffered devastating losses on that first day.

What did Chinese-Canadians call July 1 after the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act?

Many boycotted celebrations, closing shops and flying flags at half-mast until the act was repealed in 1947.

Which aerobatic team traditionally performs a flyover at the Parliament Hill show?

The noon show opens with the royal anthem and 'O Canada' in English and French before the jets pass over.

Which federal department organizes the Parliament Hill Canada Day shows?

Smaller events are held in other Ottawa parks and across the river in Gatineau.

Which Quebec holiday on June 24 competes with Canada Day for attention?

Ottawa sponsors Canada Day events in Montreal, while the June celebration relies on grassroots support.

What is the expat party held each June 30 in Hong Kong's Lan Kwai Fong called?

Expatriate celebrations also happen at Trafalgar Square in London and at the Bund Beach in Shanghai.

Which Indigenous group planned peaceful Canada Day protests in major cities in 2021?

Many events were cancelled or altered that year after unmarked graves were found at a residential school in British Columbia.

Which Oxford professor called Canada Day "endlessly decentralized"?

She noted there is no central recipe for how to celebrate it, blaming the nature of the federation.

What did the 1931 Statute of Westminster do for Canada?

Full sovereignty only arrived with the Constitution Act, 1982.

Which governor general proclaimed in 1868 that Canadians should celebrate Confederation's anniversary?

He issued the royal proclamation on June 20 of the year after Confederation.

After 1879, in which years were the next two large-scale Dominion Day celebrations held?

They marked the golden and diamond anniversaries of Confederation.

On which date did Canada's Maple Leaf flag officially appear?

That date is marked annually as National Flag of Canada Day.

How many points does the maple leaf on Canada's flag have?

The stylized leaf sits in a white square in a red field, in a 1:2:1 horizontal ratio.

Which historian designed the maple leaf flag adopted in 1965?

His design was based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada.

Which flag served as Canada's de facto national flag before 1965?

It had been in unofficial use since the 1860s and was approved by Order in Council in 1945.

Which king made red and white Canada's official colours in 1921?

Red came from Saint George's Cross and white from the French royal emblem.

Who composed the music of "O Canada"?

It was first performed on June 24, 1880, at a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day banquet in Quebec City.

Whose 1908 English lyrics became the basis for the official words of "O Canada"?

His version was not a translation of the French, and it has been revised three times, most recently in 2018.

What does the Order of Canada's Latin motto mean?

The phrase 'desiderantes meliorem patriam' is taken from Hebrews 11:16.

What shape forms the Order of Canada's insignia?

The six-leaved hexagonal design was suggested by diplomat John G. H. Halstead.

Which year's fire destroyed the Centre Block on Parliament Hill?

The rebuilt block was finished eleven years later, crowned by the new Peace Tower.

In which year was the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill completed?

It was dedicated to the Canadians who died in the First World War.

Which province hosted the first conference to consider Confederation but joined only in 1873?

The Charlottetown Conference of 1864 set the whole process in motion.

How many original Fathers of Confederation are generally counted?

They attended the Charlottetown and Quebec conferences of 1864 or the London Conference of 1866.

Which province joined Canada as its tenth province, in 1949?

It took two referendums before Newfoundlanders voted to enter Confederation.

Which territory became Canada's third in 1999?

Canada now has ten provinces and three territories stretching to the Arctic Ocean.