The City of Saint John is ensuring it will hit the ground running when it comes to Canada Day celebrations.
The port city has been hosting events for the past 10 days in anticipation of the nation’s 151st birthday on Sunday.
Saturday was officially titled Canada Day Countdown.
“What better way to be able to celebrate being Canadian than to have a variety of different aspects of what that means to be celebrated over the course of several days,” said Stephany Peterson of the Saint John Canada Day Committee.
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A cruise ship stop in Saint John allowed people from both sides of the border to experience Canada Day, a day in advance.
“I love Canada,” said Susan Schwartz, visiting from Pennsylvania. “It’s clean, the people are friendly, the food is great, the vendors, the scenery, just everything — it’s a beautiful country”
Canadians have also seemingly ramped it up a notch in recent years when it comes to celebrating their nationality.
“I think there’s a lot more interest in our birthday,” said Bill Chestnut, a cruise ship passenger from Calgary.
“A little bit more nationalistic spirit, perhaps”.
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Peterson said that Canada Day allows everyone to understand the distinct concept of Canada as a “mosaic” of different cultures.
“Multiculturalism isn’t simply just a buzz word, but is a way we consider ourselves to be a cultural mosaic,” she said.
Canada Day activities in Saint John begin with a parade in the morning, leading to opening ceremonies at 11:30 a.m.