Canada celebrates its 141st birthday

At the National War Memorial in downtown St. John's, N.L., veterans, officials, Legion members, peace officers, nurses and military personnel gathered to honour soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle of Beaumont Hamel in the First World War.

More than 230 soldiers were killed, 386 wounded and 91 went missing in action on July 1, 1916, when soldiers of the Newfoundland Regiment started to cross 200 metres of no man's land toward a German position near the French town.

[ Sponsor Content ] Halifax's Pier 21, the historic entry point for new immigrants, was packed as family and friends celebrated the country's newest citizens.

Sixty-one people were sworn in yesterday from 27 different countries.

New Canadian Florencia Berakha said she felt "proud and grateful" of acquiring her citizenship, adding she was "very happy and willing to contribute to my community and this province in particular."

In Edmonton, thousands of revelers, including one wearing a Superman costume, crammed into the downtown for the city's annual Silly Summer parade.

"It's just fun to be here," said Carole Williams, who noted that the floats get bigger and better every year.

In Ottawa, tens of thousands of flag-waving people in red and white gathered on Parliament Hill, joining Governor-General Michaëlle Jean and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Mounties escorted a carriage carrying Jean, her husband and daughter, who waved to the cheering crowd. Jean then inspected a ceremonial guard as a 21-gun salute marked the occasion.

Shortly afterward, CF-18 fighter jets and Snowbird jets roared above the gathering, the prime minister spoke to the crowd on the Hill.

"On behalf of Canada, I wish you all a happy Canada Day," Harper said. "Today is the day we celebrate our home and native land."

As Citizenship Judge William Day surveyed 80 candidates from 45 countries waiting to be sworn in Tuesday as new Canadians, he observed that when "you were brushing your teeth this morning, none of you thought you would be getting married to Canada.

"But that's what you are doing.  Marriage is when people promise to spend the rest of their lives together," Day said.

An estimated 80,000-to-100,000 people came down to Canada Place to celebrate Canada Day, second only to Ottawa for the number of participants.  

Those who came enjoyed a hot, cloudless day with outdoor and indoor entertainment culminating in a fireworks display at dusk.

In Winnipeg, Assiniboine Park featured games and activities for families, The Forks showed off a range of events and concerts and Osborne Village spotlighted its street festival.

"It's good to see a lot of people out," said Daniel Gowen, who spent a few hours playing football outside with friends yesterday at the Assiniboine Park and planned to check out the fireworks later in the evening.

Inside Assiniboine Park, parents and kids came to enjoy the sunshine early in the afternoon.

"It's been a beautiful day so far," said Doug Fullerton, who visited the park with his wife and two kids, age two and four.

July 1 was a day of partying for some of Canada's 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan, but it was also a regular workday for many, as the battle group joined in a surprise attack on a Taliban stronghold southwest of Kandahar City.

Afghan national security forces and British airborne soldiers were dropped by helicopters into an area identified as harbouring insurgents. Canadian troops with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group established blocking positions to ensure militants could neither enter nor leave the targeted area.

"This particular area was an insurgents' hornet's nest," said Task Force Afghanistan spokesman Maj. Jay Janzen. He said no Afghan security or allied international troops were killed or wounded in the single-day effort, and "we believe there was no collateral damage."

I dislike Canada Day quite a lot. Or, at least, how it's carried out. I can't knock it for being an excuse to have a day off from work and enjoying a few drinks and BBQ'd food. Good times and there ain't nothin' wrong with that. What I abhor is that whole one dimensional, jingoistic bullshit that many Canadians feel compelled to take part in. You know who they are. They're the ones painting their faces red and have this insane delusion that 'O Canada' is somehow a 'great song' (it's an embarrassment) as they belt it out, arm in arm with someone who's still reeling from having seen Ben Mulroney and could swear he just looked at her (where's a sniper when you need one?).

Taking part in these kinds of activities is a harmless diversion and I'm a fun guy so I'm not averse to acting retarded once in a while, but none of this is in any way at all a demonstration of Canadian 'spirit' or 'pride'. These so-called 'proud Canadians' think they are such because they watch hockey (a stupid, stupid game) and know the words to 'If I Had $1,000,000'. Yet, the vast majority of these people couldn't tell you anything about Alexander Mackenzie or Issac Brock without looking it up on Wikipedia. Most Canadians don't really care about their country, just enough to fit in at the parties but not enough to learn about what makes Canada a place to, for the most part, be lucky to live in.

Canada Day is really just about letting loose for a while. There's value in that. Let's not fool ourselves into thinking it has anything to do with displaying national pride.