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21 photos for 2021: A look back on a tough year for Canada

The Canadian Press

For many Canadians, the start of 2021 was a beacon for better things to come.

After a long, hard 2020 dealing with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and great civil and political unrest around the globe, many people were looking forward to getting out in public once again and reclaiming some of the more vibrant parts of life, while also hoping for a quieter year on the news front.

But the year proved to be anything but uneventful. The pandemic sent us on more twists and turns with the discovery of new variants of the virus.

Thousands of unmarked graves were — and continue to be — uncovered on residential school properties across the country.

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The 2021 Summer Olympics were largely watched from our living rooms instead of crowded bars or gatherings. And Canadians across the country dealt with extreme weather events that drove us from our homes or left us heartbroken and helpless as we watched from afar.

As a country, we continue to press on despite the hardship and unexpected events. We continue to take care of each other, mourn those we have lost, and love those still here with us.

The Canadian Press has shared some of the most captivating images taken by its photographers in 2021. While the tough times are undoubtedly evident in many of these images, there are also photos that remind us of the humanity and joy found in everyday Canadian life.

A house and a barn are surrounded by floodwaters on a farm at dusk in Abbotsford, B.C., on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press
Kais Bothe relaxes in the cool in the city hall pool, as temperatures hit 37 C in Edmonton on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. Jason Franson / The Canadian Press
Health-care workers watch from a window as demonstrators gather outside Toronto General Hospital, on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, to protest against COVID-19 vaccines, COVID-19 vaccine passports and COVID-19-related restrictions. Chris Young / The Canadian Press
People stand around the plinth after protesters pulled down the statue of Egerton Ryerson at Ryerson University in Toronto on Sunday, June 6, 2021. Ryerson was the chief superintendent of education for Upper Canada and his recommendations were regarded as instrumental in the design and implementation of the Indian residential school system. Chris Young / The Canadian Press
Newlyweds Deep Punia, left, and Parminder Punia pose for wedding photos at Pitt-Addington Marsh nature preserve in Pitt Meadows, B.C., on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press
Antoine Valois-Fortier, right, of Canada competes against Alexios Ntanatsidis in the men’s judo 81-kilogram weight class during the Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press
Sharon Durham, pictured in Edmonton on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Durham had her rare cancer surgery cancelled in Saskatchewan and then rescheduled in Edmonton when Alberta was at the peak of its fourth wave. Jason Franson / The Canadian Press
Protesters jostle with police at a protest after the city removed tents and small shelters for homeless people in Halifax, N.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press
Cardboard cut-out fans watch the action from the stands at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary, on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press
A woman and children who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat in Abbotsford, B.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press
A 60-year-old COVID-19 patient fights for his life, desperately gasping for air as head intensivist Dr. Ali Ghafouri provides life-saving medical care in the intensive care unit at the Humber River Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press
People contribute to a hand painting during the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press
Snow geese take to the air at Garry Point Park, in Richmond, B.C., on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is surrounded by selfie-seeking nurses at the COVID-19 testing centre in Terminal 3 at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Frank Gunn / The Canadian Press
David Wear looks over the remains of a house destroyed by the White Rock Lake wildfire in Monte Lake, east of Kamloops, B.C., Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Wear recently sold the property and hadn’t been living in it since moving to Merritt, B.C., with his wife in 2018. He said the people who bought the house all were able to escape to safety. Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press
Margot King, 4, touches an orange flag, representing children who died while attending Indian Residential Schools in Canada, placed in the grass at Major’s Hill Park in Ottawa, on Canada Day, Thursday, July 1, 2021. Justin Tang / The Canadian Press
Maesa Morris, 16, comes off Twilight Moon in the ranch bronc event during Broncs After Dark rodeo action at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press
Warren Parke walks along Sparks Street in downtown Ottawa with an 80-pound cross on his back to bring awareness to issues facing veterans and First Nations communities on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Parke set off walking from his home in Kelowna, B.C., on Dec. 17 and arrived in Ottawa, the end of his journey, on Feb. 15. David Kawai / The Canadian Press
Crews work to clean up a spill after the derailment of a 20-car train carrying “tar sand” and lumber near Blackfalds, Alta., on Saturday, July 3, 2021. Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press
People are silhouetted while riding the Atmosfear double swing, which lifts riders more than 66 metres into the air while spinning at up to 70 kilometres per hour, at the Pacific National Exhibition at sunset in Vancouver on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press
Collapsed sections of bridges destroyed by severe flooding and landslides on the Coquihalla Highway north of Hope, B.C., are seen in an aerial view from a Canadian Forces reconnaissance flight on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press

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