Why Do We Celebrate Canada Day?

Celebrate Canada with maple leaves, parades, music, citizenship ceremonies, summer food, and fireworks!

Why does the sky fill with fireworks every July 1? How did four provinces become the beginning of a new country in 1867, and why does the day include both celebration and reflection? Why Do We Celebrate Canada Day? introduces young readers to the history, symbols, and many meanings of Canada's national day.

Canada Day marks the anniversary of Confederation, when Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick joined to form Canada. The book also recognizes that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples had lived across these lands for thousands of years before modern Canadian borders were created.

Here is what you will discover inside:
• The Beginning of Confederation: Learn about the meetings, debates, and law that created Canada on July 1, 1867.
• A Country That Continued Growing: Follow provinces and territories as they joined Canada and discover how the national holiday developed over time.
• From Dominion Day to Canada Day: Explore the holiday's old name, its official renaming in 1982, the maple leaf flag, and "O Canada."
• Parades, Food, and Fireworks: Experience pancake breakfasts, marching bands, Snowbirds flyovers, citizenship ceremonies, barbecues, poutine, butter tarts, and late-night fireworks.
• Different Meanings Across Canada: Learn about Quebec's Moving Day, Newfoundland and Labrador's Memorial Day, the northern midnight sun, and changing commemorations since 2021.
• Visual Delight and Thoughtful History: Enjoy beautiful, minimalist colorful illustrations filled with flags, maple leaves, musicians, aircraft, family picnics, Indigenous welcomes, coastlines, and glowing night skies.

Perfect for Canadian families, classrooms, homeschoolers, newcomers, and young cultural explorers, this book celebrates community and national history while encouraging honest reflection, respect, and curiosity.

Grab your copy today and explore the many stories behind July 1!