Reimagining Canada Day

By Sofia Sokic, Program Assistant

As we approached Canada Day on July 1st, I wanted to better understand the context of this national holiday. Specifically, I hoped to gain more clarity on why some individuals choose not to celebrate on this day, and how the colonial holiday impacts Indigenous communities. As a settler, I found it important to educate myself given the alienation of Indigenous perspectives surrounding this holiday, and the persistence of nationalistic identity on Canada Day.

To start my learning journey, I researched the history of the day itself. According to the federal government, this holiday marks the day in which British North America Act of 1867 (better known as the Constitution Act) created what we know as Canada. By 1879, federal law declared July 1st an official holiday meant to celebrate the “anniversary of the confederation.” Originally called Dominion Day, the name later changed to Canada Day in 1982. 

Over time, the meaning of the holiday has changed, and Canada Day has been a time to commemorate much more than the Constitution. In 1917, on the 50th anniversary of the Constitution Act, the day was dedicated to those who fought in the First World War. And in 1968, large-scale multicultural celebrations took place on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to promote arts and sports from various cultures. 

As I read about these positive celebrations, I couldn’t help but grow uncomfortable, for there is no mention of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples on the government’s History of Canada Day website, In fact, what the Government of Canada’s website fails to note is that the celebrations on Parliament Hill excluded Indigenous peoples for decades, and this holiday has historically (and some would argue continuously) marginalized these communities.

Ultimately, we cannot celebrate the “creation of Canada” without considering that this country was established on stolen Indigenous lands, built because of colonization, and complicit in genocide. 

In recent years, many people have chosen to opt out of Canada Day. Beginning around 2021, there have been social media movements such as #CancelCanadaDay, after thousands of unmarked graves of Indigenous children were discovered at many residential schools across the country. These findings were heartbreaking and re-traumatizing for many Indigenous communities, who grieved and honoured the lost children with ceremony, action, and protest. From that year onward, many people have worn orange shirts on Canada Day, as a way to show solidarity with Indigenous communities and to protest the colonial holiday.

But what do Indigenous peoples have to say about celebrating Canada Day? Importantly, Indigenous communities are not a monolith and there are many divergent perspectives. But on the website of the Senate of Canada, three Indigenous Senators share their perspective.

Senator Brian Francis, who is Mi’kmaq, writes of the grief and pain of his community and others in the country upon the discovery of the unmarked graves. He reflects on these discoveries as “horrifying and heartbreaking, but not shocking.”

Senator Francis, of Epekwitk (also known as Prince Edward Island), suggests that July 1st should be “a time to pause and reflect on where we have been and where we are headed,” and says we should reflect on ways to build a better future for children and grandchildren. 

Senator Marty Klyne, who is Cree Métis, expresses that he’d like to see a future where Canada can exist as “a nation of nations”, that has fulfilled the promise of reconciliation. For him, Canada Day should be a day in which “Indigenous and non-Indigenous children play and learn together and come to understand, accept, and respect people from different cultural backgrounds.” 

In the end, it is only by listening to Indigenous voices that we can move forward with this holiday. For there to be a future for Canada Day, the celebrations must be rooted in reconciliation and supportive of Indigenous communities, creating a brighter future for generations to come.