Some celebrating on Tuesday said they felt Canadians are more united this year due to Canada-U.S. tensions.
Minutes before the 21-gun salute at noon, retired citizenship judge Gerald Pash led the crowd gathered at Fort Rodd Hill in a patriotic gesture of reciting the citizenship oath.
“Canada Day is a perfect day to show our love for Canada,” he said.
Before starting the oath, Pash reminded those in the crowd that the words were changed four years ago to include a reference to First Nations.
He also urged them to remember that “Canada is not perfect,” saying that while we do many things right, there are still some wrongs to correct.
For those in the crowd who have yet to become citizens, Pash welcomed them to join in and practise for their official ceremonies.
The crowd cheered afterward, then began singing the national anthem.
Pash, who has conducted a number of reaffirmation ceremonies since his term as a judge expired in 2018, told theTimes Colonistthere are always people who thank him afterward for reminding them of their rights and privileges as a Canadian citizen.
“We live in this great country, and what does Canada ask in return?” he said. “Canada only asks that we obey the law; that we accept jury duty if summoned; that we contribute as we are able to make our community better; that we take responsibility for ourselves and our family; and that we protect the environment.”
Justin Hobson, who was among the hundreds in Fort Rodd Hill celebrating Canada Day on Tuesday, said he feels Canadians are more united this year due to Canada-U.S. tensions.
“The Canadian flag, to me, has more meaning again and I feel more of a sense of pride in my country,” Hobson said.
The Fort Rodd Hill event was just one of dozens marking Canada Day around Greater Victoria and Vancouver Island on Tuesday.
Tens of thousands of people were in downtown Victoria for the day to enjoy music, food and other activities in and around the Inner Harbour before the scheduled pyrotechnics at 10:20 p.m., while the City of Langford hosted celebrations at Starlight Stadium. Sidney’s party got underway Monday evening, with a parade and family fun fair Tuesday.
Children ran a relay race in Carrot Park as part of the festivities in Port Hardy. In Port Alberni, those who joined in the party at the waterfront Harbour Quay were offered rides on the short-track passenger train along the waterfront. And the City of Courtenay staged a parade that ran along Fifth Street to Lewis Park, where Canada Day celebrations continued for a second day.
In Saanich, the Gorge Canada Day Picnic also featured a patriotic backdrop, as many houses along the roughly two-kilometre block party were draped in red and white.
Event chair Brandon Devnich said residents living on Gorge Road were encouraged to decorate their houses as part of a contest with a $500 cash prize sponsored by a local developer.
Devnich, who dyed his beard bright red in anticipation of Canada Day, said he expected 15,000 people to attend the event, organized by the Gorge Tillicum Community Association for the past 25 years.
Tammy Wesseling said Canada Day is all about “friends, family and celebrating the red-and-white.”
Wesseling, whose house on Gorge Road was decked out in flags, said she usually goes all out in decorating as her house has hosted a decades-long ladder ball tourney that is always held on Canada Day.
“We used to play on the road,” she said, but added that they don’t do that anymore as the Gorge Picnic has become too busy.
The winner of the tourney gets their name engraved on a cup and gets to keep the tropy until the next year, said current champion Bonnie Stanton.
Gorge Road resident Caroline Escher, who was busy getting her four backyard chickens settled into a fenced-off area in her driveway Monday morning, said she decided to go for the fun factor.
“Between the ponies over there and the chickens and the dog, it’s a lot of fun,” she said with a grin.
For the first time in years, Escher was wearing red on Canada Day.
“With what’s going on with American politics, I’m embracing my Canadian spirit more,” she said.
Escher, who was flying the Indigenous Canadian Flag from her front porch, said she might switch into an orange shirt later on in the day, which she has been wearing for the past few years to honour those who survived the residential school system. “Both are equally important.”
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