Canada’s centennial in 1967 is often seen as an important milestone in the history of Canadian nationalism and in Canada’s maturing as a distinct, independent country, after which Dominion Day became more popular with average Canadians. Into the late 1960s, nationally televised, multi-cultural concerts held in Ottawa were added and the fête became known as Festival Canada. After 1980, the Canadian government began to promote celebrating Dominion Day beyond the national capital, giving grants and aid to cities across the country to help fund local activities.[25]
Some Canadians were, by the early 1980s, informally referring to the holiday as Canada Day,[n 2] a practice that caused some controversy:[31] Proponents argued that the name Dominion Day was a holdover from the colonial era, an argument given some impetus by the patriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982, and others asserted that an alternative was needed as the term does not translate well into French.[26] Conversely, numerous politicians, journalists, and authors, such as Robertson Davies,[32] decried the change at the time and some continue to maintain that it was illegitimate and an unnecessary break with tradition.[26] Others claimed Dominion was widely misunderstood and conservatively inclined commenters saw the change as part of a much larger attempt by Liberals to “re-brand” or re-define Canadian history.[26][32][33] Columnist Andrew Cohen called Canada Day a term of “crushing banality” and criticized it as “a renunciation of the past [and] a misreading of history, laden with political correctness and historical ignorance”.[34]
The holiday was officially renamed as a result of a private member’s bill that was passed through the House of Commons on July 9, 1982, two years after its first reading.[18]
Source: Canada Day – Wikipedia
Opinion:
Hear! hear! I’m with Andrew Cohen on this. But then, what are we really supposed to be celebrating in the 21st century? A bunch of criminals stealing our tax dollars, bribing politicians, and ostracizing the brightest and best in our universities?
Yes, it’s Canada day. And sadly, this ‘aint the Canada I grew up in. Some things are better. But a lot is worse. The question is, can we still fix it or is the nation beyond repair?
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