Canada Day celebrations draw thousands, as Carney says values are under pressure

Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast came together to celebrate national pride on the 158th Canada Day. Rachel Aiello reports from festivities in Ottawa.

OTTAWA — Canadians took to parks and civic squares across the country Tuesday to show unity on Canada Day amid American threats, economic uncertainty and Western alienation.

“We’ve decided not to pull apart and fight, but to come together and to build. Because that’s the Canadian way,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said to thousands of Canadians gathered in Ottawa.

This year’s festivities at Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats Park got the royal treatment, with Prince Edward praising Canada’s unity and accomplishments.

“Seeing this sea of red and white, there is only one sense that I have here,” the Duke of Edinburgh said. “Today is truly a celebration of you, and your home and your land, strong and free.”

Leaders gave speeches interlaced with musical performances, Indigenous cultural demonstrations and multiple flypasts of Snowbirds military jets. The federal Heritage Department counted 8,000 people attending the afternoon ceremony.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon told the crowd that the country is on a journey of reconciliation that began by listening to each other, by honouring the past and “holding space for the pain and resilience” of Indigenous Peoples.

“Kindness is the thread that weaves our communities together,” she said.

In Carney’s first national holiday since taking office in March, the prime minister touched on moments in Canada’s history of coming together, from the Battle of Vimy Ridge to the role of Gander, N.L., in supporting people whose flights were grounded after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“Our economy is being attacked by a trade war we didn’t start,” he said, alluding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s series of tariffs on Canada.

“Our values are being tested by attacks on democracy and freedoms — attacks that we must resist. And once again, as the world is becoming more divided and dangerous, Canadians are uniting.”

Carney used his speech to tout legislation his government passed to speed up the permitting of major projects, despite Bill C-5 attracting controversy from environmentalists, Indigenous groups and democracy advocates.

He called on Canadians to show the same industrious spirit that got the St. Lawrence Seaway built and 1967 Expo in Montreal, and to “build, baby, build” in the face of U.S. economic threats.

Canada Day this year coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Canadian flag and the 45th anniversary of the official adoption of “O Canada” as the national anthem.

The ceremony also marked the 45th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. Federal Canadian Identity Minister Steven Guilbeault noted that Terry’s younger brother Darrell was present, as part of a team of cyclists biking 7,000 kilometres from Vancouver to St. John’s.

He also noted the passing of “remarkable Canadians and Indigenous Peoples we lost” over the past year, including actor Donald Sutherland and the former head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Murray Sinclair.

“Their legacies live on, in the people they inspired, the change they sparked, and the Canada they helped build,” Guilbeault said.

Simon invested five individuals into the Order of Canada during the Ottawa ceremony, including actor Ryan Reynolds and musician Heather Rankin.

An evening show was set to feature artists like Sarah McLachlan, Coeur de Pirate, Brenda Montana, Dear Rogue and Alex Wells.

In Alberta, where talk of separation from Canada has dominated much of the political discussion following the Liberals win in April’s federal election, hundreds soaked up the sun on the legislature grounds in Edmonton.

“I’m proud to be Canadian and standing strong for Canada,” said Alice Rutto, who noted talk of separation is what prompted her to come out for the celebrations.

But Jack O’Brien had mixed views. While he said Canada Day is a day for “everyone to come together” and isn’t the time for independence talk, his views about Canada will be different on July 2.

“This is the time for us to celebrate Canada, correct? But if you ask me tomorrow about separation, it’s a whole different story,” said O’Brien, who lives in a rural community.

“I’m not a fan of the Liberal government and I would think a majority of Albertans are not, and to be honest, if they wanted to separate and wanted my vote, they would get it.”

In Vancouver, hundreds gathered to take in live music on Granville Island, where local shop owner Jaskiran Kaur said she was proud to see the community marking the holiday, after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the announced discovery of graves at B.C. residential schools.

“I think Granville Island was really consciously trying to be mindful when it came to residential school survivors and the recognition of Indigenous culture,” Kaur said as she waited in line for her children to get their faces painted.

“I think that was why it’s been very toned down the past few years. And I think it coming back, across the board in the country, is very much to do with the 51st state rhetoric,” she said, a reference to Trump’s aspirations to make Canada an American state.

In front of Toronto City Hall, hundreds gathered at Nathan Phillips Square to take pictures in front of the three-dimensional Toronto sign, while enjoying live music and dance performances.

Phoenix Deluca said she drove in from Peterborough, Ont., with her friends visiting from Scotland so they could join the celebrations.

“It’s nice to show off Canada,” she said. “I’m very proud to be Canadian.”

Carlos Gama immigrated to Canada three years ago from Brazil, and said he’s spent every Canada Day since then in downtown Toronto. He said he’ll be celebrating with “poutine and other Canadian foods.”

A few blocks away at Queen’s Park, hundreds protested at an Idle No More rally, opposing Ontario’s own major-projects legislation that has drawn loud opposition from Indigenous groups.

“We have to come together. The Great Lakes are going to be dead within 10 years,” Melanie vanDam, a member of Cutler First Nation, said to the crowd through tears.

With files from Natasha Baldin in Toronto, Brieanna Charlebois in Vancouver and Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2025.

Alessia Passafiume and Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press