canada day

july 1st. canada day. the day when canadians don their red and white and flock to the nearest centre for fireworks, entertainment and drinks (not necessarily in that order...). a day where most people celebrate all things canadian. unless you're in quebec. when it is city-wide moving day (take that, canada).

canada day celebrates the day when 3 british colonies joined to form a single country. nova scotia, new brunswick and the province of canada (since then known as ontario and quebec) united to become a country in their own right, whilst remaining in the british empire. the day was originally known as dominion day (according to wiki) and didn't change its name until 1982- the year that the constitution act patriated the canadian constitution and surrendered british parliament rights on the country. doesn't really seem that long ago actually. a bit odd.

cities big and small host their own canada day celebrations. most will have a fireworks display. many will have music and entertainment. ottawa becomes the very epicentre of  canada (yes, i realize it's the capital) and some hundreds of thousands of people will flock to parliament hill. they watch canadian bands sing canadian music, eat beavertails and poutine, drink apple cider and wash it all down with some maple syrup while a canadian host entertains them until canadian fireworks are launched. they put up with crowds of immeasurable size, wait in lines that are ridiculously long and pay exorbitant prices for food and drinks that normally cost only a fraction. and they have a damn good time doing it.

i've only been to ottawa twice for canada day. to be honest, i have no intention of going back. i hate crowds. and this is like the mother of all crowds. *shiver*

montreal did well with its canada day celebration. surprisingly. with la st jean only a week before and the general lack of nationalism (towards canada. plenty for quebec...) i was surprised to see the list of events happening around the city. not only was the old port bustling with things to do and fireworks to launch, but other parts of the city were celebrating as well. the jazz festival played through the day (and week, actually) and people could generally be entertained. (you could even shop, because most stores were business-as-usual on friday. that seemed strange to me because for the most part, on public holidays, you can do sweet fuck all because everything is closed).

many montrealers, however, snub canada day. not necessarily on purpose either. you see, quebec (or at least montreal) has this fun little tradition of making july 1st the day that 95% of leases get renewed. ie, moving day. people take advantage of the day off work and move house. i personally see it as a bit of a slap in the face of the country. a so-called "take that canada. we are so not into your special day that we are even choosing to move (!) rather then celebrate". as such, getting around the city on july 1st can be a bit tricky; trucks everywhere, cones on the street blocking space for moving trucks, cars filled with junk driving slowly and irate, sweaty folk blocking the sidewalk with their wares. good times. fun times.

luckily, we signed our lease in march. so we will avoid the communal moving day for the next few years at least. instead we meandered down to the jazzfest, took in some free music and had a damn good time.

happy birthday canada.
xo