Find out where to celebrate Canada150 in your community!

We hope you’re able to wrap things up a little early today and get ready to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial!

We’ve gathered a few resources so you’ll be able to take full advantage of all this great nation has to offer!

There is an extensive list on the Government of Canada website to find celebrations wherever you are in Canada, simply search by city/province.  There is also a google map that impressively captures all communities celebrating Canada 150. You can also download the Canada 150 Passport 2017 app. on your mobile device to keep up to date on all the action!

For those of you in Ontario, visit the  Government of Ontario website – your best source to find MPPs and official Ontario 150 events. https://news.ontario.ca/mci/en/2017/06/canada-day-weekend-events-across-the-province.html

From the www.ontario.ca website:

Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration

Whether you’re going to celebrate close to home or take a trip across the province, Ontario is funding almost 1,000 events and initiatives, including celebrations, to help you mark this extra special anniversary. You can plot your Canada Day plans using the interactive map on the Ontario150 website.

Canada Day at Queen’s Park in Toronto will run 10 AM to 10 PM, and will feature a 21-gun salute at noon, and the swearing in of 150 new Canadians in a citizenship ceremony. Families will be able to enjoy food, interactive shows, and live entertainment — including Ginger Ale & The Monowhales singing A Place to Stand.

The City of Toronto has big plans for Canada Day including a four-day festival at Nathan Phillips Square from June 30 – July 3, and July 1 events  at Mel Lastman Square, Humber Bay Park West and Scarborough Civic Centre, complete with food and entertainment including the Barenaked Ladies, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Ron Sexsmith performing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

The Ontario Heritage Festival will take place June 30 to July 3 at Ontario Place in Toronto. This free admission event will celebrate the heritage, culture and traditions of Ontario through music, interactive exhibits and food. The highlight of the festival will be a Citizenship Ceremony on July 1.

In Toronto, there will also be fireworks displays at the CN Tower, Harbourfront, Ashbridges Bay, Nathan Phillips Square, Mel Lastman Square, Humber Bay Park West, and Scarborough Civic Centre.

In Ottawa, there will be a full weekend of events including activities and performances at the Canadian Museum of History, Major’s Hill Park, and Parliament Hill, with a 20-minute pyromusical fireworks show on July 1. And don’t forget to check out Inspiration Village, featuring transformed sea containers (including Ontario150’s exhibit) next to the ByWard Market, with music, interactive displays and street performers.

The SESQUI dome will spend the Canada Day weekend in London as part of its Ontario tour, thrilling and inspiring audiences with the film HORIZON, a 20-minute visually stunning journey through Canada that will amplify the senses, giving audiences a free admission front row seat to the wonders of our country including a ride on an illuminated dragon boat on the Rideau Canal and being enveloped by the spectacular Northern Lights.

The SESQUI experience will be a feature part of SesquiFest, a free festival hosted by the City of London that will animate Downtown London, featuring music headliners, local arts and culture, Indigenous and ethno-cultural programming, outdoor summer ice skating and much more, over five themed-days.

Brantford is hosting a 2-day celebration at the Steve Brown Sports Complex/Lion’s Park featuring a free concert on June 30, as well as food, a midway, helicopter rides, and Canada Day fireworks.

Grimsby is celebrating 150 years of history with costumed characters interpreting important historic events, a green screen project for visitors to have photos taken with historical backdrops, and a photo contest.

Cornwall is hosting a free, fun-filled two-day event including live music, dance performance from local bands, Indigenous and Francophone communities, family activities and fireworks.

Newmarket is hosting a high tech scavenger hunt to engage youth to participate in learning about local history and culture. Each clue will have a geocached location with GPS range and an app to guide players using their cellphones to discover nearby secrets based on photographs or questions.

Thunder Bay’s Fort William Historical Park is encouraging Canada Day visitors to dress in red and white and help colour a giant sesquicentennial mural, take part in a scavenger hunt and enjoy daytime fireworks and a smoke show.

Burlington’s Royal Botanical Gardens is proud to host our nation’s newest Canadians as they take their oath of citizenship in the historic Rock Garden on June 29.

From June 30 to July 9, Owen Sound will host MAAWANJI’IDING, a festival marking Canada’s 150th and Owen Sound’s 160th birthday. Highlights include the dedication of the Niimaywikwedong Reconciliation Garden at Kelso Beach Park, a performance by two-time Juno nominee Alysha Brilla, workshops in traditional crafts, circus arts, and innovative technology, as well as the Métis Voyageur Games and the West Coast Lumberjack Show. 

In the GTA/Southern Ontario, you can use GO Transit to get to your favourite Canada Day events. Visit gotransit.com for holiday schedules.

And finally,  if you’re in Toronto – Now Magazine has put together an excellent Top 10 Free Events to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, including: Visiting the ROM, seeing the world’s largest rubber duck at Redpath Waterfront Festival, Unceded: Our Home on Native Land at Harbourfront Centre, Drinking Beer at Brickworks, Festivities at City Hall, and of course, where to watch Fireworks after dark! https://nowtoronto.com/news/the-best-canada-day-2017-events-in-toronto/

Wishing you and your families a safe and happy Canada Day from your friends at Pathway Group!