Canada Day History, Trivia, and Celebrations
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Your lyrics for Canada's national anthem are not quite complete. While they are currently correct for the English version, there is a French version and 2 bilingual versions. Possible unlike your American national anthem, there have been many changes over the years. This could be an idea for a future article for next year. The original song was actually French not English. If you consult www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca you will see how controversial this song actually is/was and why it took so long to make it the official anthem of the country.
Best regards for your four of July celebrations. Enjoy.
And as to your request on how I spent my holiday...I spent it in quite contemplation of all the changes I've seen and experienced over my past to years.
I noticed NewfoundlandLabrador is not mentioned in your history. Is there a reason for this? Newfoundland joined confederation in 1949 that made us Canadians. Another question? I am in my late 70's why is it that Canada seems to always end at Halifax? I am a proud Canadian and I do not wish for my Province of Newfoundland to be left out of anything that pertains to Canada. Please reply with an answer of understanding.
Thank you.
God Bless Canada......which includes Newfoundland. Will be celebrating tomorrow.
Major Lorne Hiscock
Lewisporte, NL
Canada
Labrador was part of the Province of Canada initially; we have edited the article for clarity. We neglected to name every province and territory in this article, but that certainly doesn’t mean that we think less of Newfoundland! Thank you for your comment!
Linda: You are quibbling over semantics. A significant number of Indigenous children died while attending residential schools, with some schools experiencing rates as high as 1 death per 20 students. An exact number of school-related deaths remains unknown due to incomplete records from negligence. It is unclear how the children died at the schools, which were buffeted by disease outbreaks a century ago, and where children faced sexual, physical and emotional abuse and violence.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report estimates the number of unmarked graves to be 3,200. However, other sources state this is a conservative estimate, and the actual number could be much higher.
A tragedy indeed!
So far, all of the alleged unmarked graves are proven to be not graves at all.
Canada is a wonderful country to which my parents immigrated after WW2.I regard it as a privilege +honour to be a citizen of such a great and wonderful country.I'm not much into flag waving or marching on parades but in my heart I shall be celebrating the 154th anniversary of our country.
To Shelagh and John Taylor: Your comments on residential schools are not truthful: the students were not killed; they died of disease most likely; they were not dumped unceremoniously into mass graves; they were buried in individual unmarked graves over a long period of time. The numbers found so far do not add up to more than 1000 although they probably will as more graves are found with the help of ground penetrating radar. The residential school problem is a true tragedy. Do not make things worse by exaggerating the circumstances.
This year on Canada Day, many Canadians will be reflecting instead of celebrating. In recent weeks, discoveries at several former residential schools revealed and confirmed that hundreds of Indigenous children were killed, their bodies dumped unceremoniously into mass, unmarked graves. Canada is on a path to Truth and Reconciliation - but more action is required from both government and citizens to move the process along. My hope is that Canadians will not celebrate with fireworks today, but rather take some time to learn about our past and commit to taking action toward learning the Truth of what was perpetrated against our Indigenous peoples and advocating for Reconciliation.
This year many Canadians and Canadian municipalities will forego Canada Day celebrations to instead reflect on the tragedy of the discovery of more than 1,000 unmarked graves, most of which are believed to belong to Indigenous children. Many more are feared to be yet discovered.
Canada’s residential school system operated from the late 1800s until the 1990s. It was part of a wider colonial project that aimed to take over Indigenous lands and forcibly assimilate First Nation, Metis and Inuit children. Various churches, including most notably the Roman Catholic Church, ran at least 139 residential schools across Canada, and thousands of Indigenous children are believed to have died while attending the institutions.
In the city of Fredricton, New Brunswick officials say the city will be lit orange – the colour largely tied to Canada’s residential school history – and is urging citizens to spend the day learning about Indigenous communities.
I’m a Canadian transplant that lives in Atlanta,GA. My 2 boys and I will be kayaking down the Chestatee River this afternoon then having a cook out on the bbq. Hot dogs and burgers. Happy Canada Day to everyone.