11 Facts About Canada Day

Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada.

Canada Day celebrations take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world attended by Canadians living abroad.

Canada Day is often informally referred to as "Canada's birthday", particularly in the popular press.

Canada Day became a "kingdom in its own right" within the British Empire commonly known as the Dominion of Canada Day.

Canada Day gradually gained increasing sovereignty over the years, notably with the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, until finally becoming completely sovereign with the passing of the Constitution Act, 1982 which served to fully patriate the Canadian constitution.

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Some Canadians were, by the early 1980s, informally referring to the holiday as Canada Day, a practice that caused some controversy: Proponents argued that the name Dominion Day was a holdover from the colonial era, an argument given some impetus by the patriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982, and others asserted that an alternative was needed as the term does not translate well into French.

In February 2020, it was announced that due to the front lawn being occupied by construction work related to the Centre Block restoration project, the main Canada Day stage show in Ottawa would be re-located from Parliament Hill to Major's Hill Park, behind Chateau Laurier.

In China, Canada Day celebrations are held at the Bund Beach by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and at Canadian International School in Beijing by the Canada China Business Council.

The federal government funds Canada Day events at the Old Port of Montreal—an area run by a federal Crown corporation—while the Fete nationale parade is a grassroots effort that has been met with pressure to cease, even from federal officials.

Canada Day has attracted a negative stigma among some Indigenous peoples in Canada and their allies, who feel that it is a celebration of the colonization of Indigenous land.

Criticism of Canada Day celebrations were particularly prominent during Canada's sesquicentennial in 2017, with allegations that the commemorations downplayed the role of Indigenous peoples in the country's history, and the hardships they face in the present day.