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Where you can and can’t set off fireworks this Canada Day (and all year long)

(Photo via CBC)
(Photo via CBC)

With Canada Day approaching, people across the country will be loading up on flag capes, maple leaf ball caps and fireworks… armloads and armloads of fireworks.

It’s curious that in a modern society where it’s illegal to walk a dog off-leash or transport a 7-year-old without a booster seat, we’re okay with Joe Six-pack carrying an evening’s worth of explosives home to enjoy in the back yard with a few drinks and the neighbours.

But before you fill the bucket of sand and set up the lawn chairs, you might want to make sure it’s actually legal for you to do so. While federal rules govern the use and distribution of fireworks, it’s up to municipalities to decide when they’re allowed. And while some cities are okay with a small pyrotechnic display on a random summer night, others have instituted outright bans. So it may be okay on a certain day to fire off a spinner in Vancouver, but if you step into Richmond, you’ll be running afoul of the law.

Your best bet is to check your local bylaws before you decide to go all Michael Bay on your backyard. But just to get you started, here’s a primer:

Fireworks okay, firecrackers no

Before we talk about the when and where, we need to talk about the what. There are three federal classifications for fireworks. Two of those groups are the massive displays you see on the waterfront at Canada Day, and pyrotechnics you’d use in a movie. But that’s all off-limits to most of us. What’s available are ‘consumer’ fireworks, which includes roman candles, sparklers, cakes, and all that normal stuff that you find at the temporary store at the mall. What you can’t get are the bangers, or the things that just explode with no lights. This includes firecrackers, cherry bombs, M80s, and silver salutes.

Fireworks sellers have to keep up with all this, particularly in an industry with a public safety perception problem.

“Somebody shoots somebody and they blame the gun. There are a few people out there that misuse fireworks and it’s us that get the blame for it,” says Suki Paul, owner of Phatboy Fireworks.

The (not so wild) west

While the western provinces may have a reputation for being somewhat welcoming for guns, much of Alberta and B.C. draw the line when it comes to home explosives.

In Alberta, where brush and forest fires are a serious issue, the province last year considered a province-wide ban on fireworks (though the ban would have given cities wiggle-room to pass laws allowing certain displays).

In Calgary, there’s a total ban, meaning you can’t buy or set off fireworks anywhere, while Edmonton allows it, but only if you get a permit first (and there’s a current temporary ban due to dry conditions).

If Alberta’s complex, B.C. is a different world. First of all, fireworks on the West Coast aren’t even in the discussion for Canada Day, or Victoria Day for that matter. The Vancouver tradition is to light things off on Halloween, which unsurprisingly has led to many past instances of vandalism and home damage that has led to pretty strict limits.

In the Greater Vancouver area, you can buy fireworks in Vancouver, Burnaby, West Vancouver and North Vancouver, as long as you’re within a week of Halloween (and with a permit), but you’re out of luck in Surrey, Richmond, Langley, and Abbotsford, and much of the lower mainland.

Ontario: Patriotic holidays and multiculturalism

The urban south of Ontario isn’t forest fire county, but it does have a lot of immigration from countries with fireworks culture, so it’s not surprising the rules are fairly liberal, and getting more so.

“Toronto‘s actually gone the other way, rather than tightening up,” says Paul.

For much of Ontario, you’re good on or around Canada Day and Victoria Day without a permit, and some GTA municipalities now allow fireworks on the Hindu festival of Diwali. In Toronto itself, you might get away with lighting them off on Chinese New Year, and it’s possible to score a permit for other occasions.

Firework-free backyards for Fête Nationale

St. Jean-Baptiste Day is a major fireworks day in Quebec, but not necessarily the backyard variety. Fireworks are forbidden year round on the Island of Montreal, though allowed in much of the rest of the province.

The wild East (except P.E.I.)

If you’re the type that needs to launch rockets to celebrate your birthday, your      kid’s grade 5 graduation, or just a warm Friday, then you might want to move out east. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador have the most liberal rules in the country. As long as you’re 18 years old and not keeping anyone up after 11pm, it’s all good. The exception is P.E.I., where you can’t buy, sell or set off fireworks. And if you bring them in from across the bridge, you’re probably banned from Green Gables for a year.