Watch above: new and old Canadians celebrate Canada Day in Saskatoon
SASKATOON – For 364 days of the year, green is the colour in Saskatchewan but on Tuesday that changed when Saskatchewan residents joined the rest of the country and decked themselves out in red and white for Canada Day.
Young Muslim Canadians stood tall, proudly belting out O Canada in their red and white. Taukeer Ashraf, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Saskatoon branch, was born and raised in Canada. He understands the sacrifices many immigrant parents have had to make to give their children a new lease on life in this country.
“Most parents want to pass down the most prized possession to their children maybe a house, a car, whatever that might be; for a lot of these immigrants who came to Canada and our community is largely developed from immigrants, Canada is what they wanted to pass down to their children,” said Ashraf.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community was one of the many organizations in the city celebrating Canada’s 147th birthday.
“It’s the one thing that brings us together, it’s the country we live in, it’s the one thing we all universally love,” said Ashraf.
A Canada Day staple in Saskatoon is the 47th annual Canada Day festivities at Diefenbaker Park.
“When it all comes together like this it’s just absolutely gratifying and truly it’s the reason that we’re a service club and we’re doing this as a service to our community it’s celebrating our citizenship,” said Brad Sylvester, Saskatoon Optimist Club Canada Day chair.
It’s a celebration that brings new and old Canadians together.
“To me it just reflects the new Saskatchewan, the new Canada and this country’s going to change in the next 40 years, demographics move and change and alter and it’s representative of our country,” said Sylvester.
Between 30 and 40 thousand people were expected to take in the festivities. A captivating fireworks display starting at 10:30 p.m. will cap off the evening.
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