July 1st, Canada Day – a day of celebration, fireworks and festivities here in Montreal but how did it all begin? Why does this day even exist? Who chose for July 1st to be THE DAY and what happened on this day many years ago?

Here, I decided to decode this holiday and find out the true reason for it’s existence.

First off, Canada wasn’t actually “born” on July 1st but the holiday celebrates the events that took place on this day. It turns out that, on July 1, 1867, the British North American Act created the Canadian federal government. This act basically stated that Canada would become an independant dominion (territory) of England, which is why Canada Day was originally called Dominion Day.

More specifically, on that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces. The British Province of Canada was divided into the new Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and two other British colonies, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, also became provinces of Canada.

I also learnt that it was only in 1982, that the term Dominion Day changed to Canada Day after a vote in Parliament. However, not everyone was happy about this change. Some people felt that a 115-year-old part of Canadian heritage was lost. But, the new name stuck and every July 1, Canadians celebrate Canada Day with parades, fireworks, picnics and food!

Additionally, the Fathers of Confederation are basically the people who attended the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences in 1864 and the London Conference of 1866 in England, preceding Canadian Confederation.

Fathers of Confederation, 1864. This famous photo shows John A. Macdonald seated in the front row, centre, George-Étienne Cartier is standing to his right.

On a less nerdy note, this Canada Day was extremely fun and memorable because I got to participate in the Canada Day Parade! So, the day began when I arrived two hours prior to the parade to greet as many participants as I could and discuss a run through of the parade. Here are a few pics prior to the parade;

Iranian Pride!

Decorating the car!

Indian Pride!

Canadian Pride!

I’d like to thank everyone for coming out and supporting me on the day of the parade. I never expected so many smiling faces and so much cheering!

Canada Day Parade

Stay tuned for more updates on my preparation! 10 days left ahh!!

Love,

Megha xo

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts" - Winston Churchill