‘Canada’s always been special’: Patriotism strong at Cape Breton Canada Day event

It was a sea of red and white at Petersfield Park in Westmount, N.S., on Tuesday for Canada Day.

It was a sea of red and white - even more than most years - at Petersfield Park in Westmount, N.S., on Canada Day.

Some wore Canadian-themed costumes while the vast majority were dressed in something red and white, or with a maple leaf on it.

For reasons that may be fairly obvious, people seemed to be feeling even more patriotic than they normally do on July 1.

“I think some people are waking up to it, but Canada’s always been special,” said Bill English, who was decked out head-to-toe in patriotic garb.

“If everybody wasn’t always saying it, I think everybody knew it.”

“If we have to ballpark it, we’re between 3,000 and 4,000 people,” said event organizer Steve Gillespie, adding the annual party at the provincial park is the largest Canada Day gathering for families in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

That also meant thousands of flags since everyone was handed one at the main entrance.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that there’s more Canada flags around this year,” he said. “People are very patriotic anyway, but with everything that’s going on in the world they’re so proud to be Canadian.”

“It’s because of the political climate, for sure,” added Adam Murphy, who was wearing a Canadian-themed costume he said he first created when he was a middle school student more than 25 years ago.

Some wondered whether this level of patriotism will stick around in future years when tariffs and threats of annexation might be things of the past.

“People are using this as a good excuse, but as long as it keeps going past the crisis then I think it means something more,” Murphy said.

Canada Day celebrations in the CBRM continued later in the day with a large gathering and concert at Sydney’s Open Hearth Park, with the music headlined by eight-time Juno Award winner Serena Ryder.

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