Thousands of people gathered in Ottawa on Canada Day to mark the country’s 158th year since Confederation.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, in his first official Canada Day message said that historic moment was a bet by provinces that they’d be “stronger together than they ever could be apart.”
“They were right. They became a new federation that’s now grown into our strong, bilingual, multicultural, ambitious country,” he said in the pre-recorded message.
Carney went on to say that in the years since, Canada’s history has been marked with “inflection points” and the country now faces another moment.
“The world is changing, old friendships are frayed, our economy is being buffeted by a trade war we didn’t start,” he said. “Our values are being tested by attacks on democracy and freedoms that we must resist.”
He went on to say that as the world is changing, Canadians are united and stressed the country would build a “one Canadian economy,” a phrase used by Carney as the federal government has worked to bring down interprovincial trading barriers.
The prime minister’s message was similar when he took the stage at the noon national ceremony.
“I’m particularly proud that in a world that’s fraught with division, that we under the maple leaf have considered our options and we’ve decided not to pull apart and fight, but to come together and to build,” Carney said.
“We are a country that is great because in part we know we can be even better. We’re a country that does things because they’re right, not because they’re easy. A people that see kindness as a virtue, not a weakness. And now is the time to build a Canada worthy of those values, a Canada worthy of its great people, a Canada for all and for all time.”
His remarks followed performances by various artists, including Mi’kmaw performer Alicia Murrin, Metis singer Andrian Turenne and Inuit poet Taqralik Partridge, and a flyby of the Canadian Air Force Snowbirds.
Canadian Identity Minister Steven Guilbeault was also in attendance and addressed the crowd ahead of the performances.
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“When we think of Canada, we think of its beauty, wilderness, vast, raw and stunning natural landscapes,” he said. “We see rugged coasts, lush, green forests, golden prairies, snow-capped mountains and windswept tundra. There’s no other place like Canada and we all share a sacred duty to protect it.
“But Canada is far more than just a place, it’s something that we carry around in our hearts with pride.”
Quebec singer Garou sung Des choses a dire and pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo performed the Hymn to Freedom, with the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward delivering a speech in between the performances.
Then, FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani took to the stage to present the trophy, a symbol of the upcoming World Cup that’s set to take place in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico next year.
Following Carney’s speech, singer Amanda Marshall performed Fall from Grace and I Believe in You, before an artistic tribute recognizing the 45th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope.
Gov.-Gen. Mary Simon also addressed the crowd, telling those in attendance and watching from home what she admired most about Canada.
“We share this vast land and I love that in all of its enormous geography, it’s often the little things that transform lives and communities,” Simon said. “What I have seen is people acting with kindness, teaching children, building bridges, understanding between people.”
Simon’s words were followed by her leading the investiture ceremony of previous appointees to the Order of Canada.
Actor Ryan Reynolds and singer, songwriter Heather Ranking were made officers, while Inuk soprano Deantha Edmunds, hockey broadcaster Scott Oake and Vietnamese-born novelist Kim Thúy Ly Thanh were named members of the order.
The five had been previously appointed to the order in 2023 and 2024, however Tuesday’s ceremony was to invest them and for them to receive their insignia.
The Canada Day celebrations will be capped off with fireworks over the LeBreton Flats at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Other Canada Day ceremonies are happening across the country, including the Canada Together event in Vancouver and a celebration at Victoria Park in Charlottetown.
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