Canada Day 101
Canada Day 101
a brief history of canada day
It was not really until the early 80's that Canadians started to refer to the anniversary of July 1st, 1867 as Canada Day. It was on July 1st, 1867 that the Constitution Act came into force. Prior to this date, this Country was British North America, but with the Constitution Act came the unification of three colonies: "the Province of Canada", Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. For decades the day was called Dominion Day, but according to some historians, it was in the early 1980's that some Canadians coined "Canada Day".
Interestingly, the name Canada Day started being used just around the time that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came in to force in 1982. In 1985 the Holidays Act came into force. The act specifically titled July 1st as "Canada Day". Section 2(1) of the Holidays Act reads: "July 1, not being a Sunday, is a legal holiday and shall be kept and observed such throughout Canada, under the name of "Canada Day"".
July 1st is an important historic day in Canada for other reasons.
- 1927: The first National Radio Network Hookup by the Canadian National Railway.
- 1958: The inauguration of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) cross-country television broadcast.
- 1966: The first colour television broadcast in Canada.
- 1967: Inauguration of the Order of Canada.
- 1980: "O Canada" as Canada's National Anthem.
On a sour note, Chinese-Canadians once referred to July 1st as "Humiliation Day" because of the Chinese-Immigration Act of 1923.
how to be canadian
Regardless of the history, today is Canada Day. Though this website often references topics in criminal law from a Calgary criminal lawyer perspective who is often quite critical, today's post is from the perspective of a proud Canadian.