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Canada Day is a much bigger deal than it used to be

Many Islanders will partake in celebrations Friday that include Canadian flags, large and small, temporary tattoos or a slice of red and white cake.

But did you know, even here in the "birthplace of Confederation," Canada Day wasn't always the big deal it is today?

Forrest Pass is a historian with the Canadian Museum of History with a doctorate in the history of Canadian nationalism, and professor Michael Bliss is a well-known Canadian political historian, academic and author. He was packing Thursday for a road trip to the Bliss summer home in Springfield, P.E.I.. Bliss and Pass both helped explain the genesis of Canada Day.

"When I was growing up we were still celebrating Victoria Day, May 24th, also known as Empire Day," said Bliss. "That was the great patriotic celebration: celebrating the British Empire, Canada's role in the empire."

Dominion Day

When the British North America Act was signed in 1867, the nation declared Dominion Day as a national holiday. After that, some communities celebrated it, and others did not.

Ontarians often celebrated before the turn of the century with Dominion Day lacrosse tournaments, whereas in British Columbia, canoe races were the norm.

Even more unusual, Pass notes, was a tradition in rural Ontario of dressing in costume and roaming the community at night with torches — like mummering in Newfoundland, it grew from a wish to mock the holiday celebrations, and probably ended up as just plain fun.

Some Canadian border towns melded their celebrations with their American neighbours` July 4th holidays.

Diamond Jubilee

In 1927 there was a surge of interest in Dominion Day as the government arranged for the very first national radio broadcast — Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King's patriotic speech for the 60th anniversary of Confederation.

But it wasn't until 1958 that the federal government started to orchestrate Dominion Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, including a parade and fireworks, which they've had ever since.

"That was coming out of a post-war renaissance of Canadian nationalism," notes Pass. "Canadians had a new self-confidence and an openness toward new celebrations." The emphasis on nationhood was also a response to the resurgence of Quebec nationalism, Pass notes.

The celebration of Canada's centennial in 1967 was "completely unprecedented," said Pass, with many memorials built across the country, including the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown.

'Grumpy people'

In 1982, with Canada's constitution, Dominion Day was officially renamed Canada Day, and many decried the loss of connection to the British Empire.

"There were a lot of grumpy people who didn't like losing Dominion Day and didn't like Canada Day, so there was some considerable resistance at first," notes Bliss.

"But just as the flag has become so popular over time, now everybody is brought up to see Canada Day as our great national holiday."

Starting in the 1990s, the Department of Canadian Heritage, as a result of the threats to Canadian unity, launched a concerted campaign to encourage people to fly the flag — remember the millions of dollars the government spent giving away free flags?

That's when Canada began to see the American-style swag in red and white: hats, buttons, sunglasses — anything people could wear or display was branded and displayed.

Party on!

"Next year I imagine its going to be a great party," said Pass, who doesn't see renewed Canadian nationalism fading.

"There will be all sorts of unofficial celebration by patriotic Canadians, you know, putting up cairns at the cottage and cities renaming their rinks," said Bliss.

While Canadians celebrate the country, Bliss opines that we don't celebrate a Canadian identity as many countries do.

"We're really not identical, and we're kind of glad that we're not identical. We're a very diverse country," he said