Canada Day

Canada Day
Children watch the Canada Day parade in Montreal
Also called	Fête du Canada; previously named Dominion Day
Observed by	Canadians (Canada)
Type	Historical, cultural, national
Celebrations	Fireworks, parades, barbecues, concerts, carnivals, fairs, picnics
Date	July 1
Next time	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)
Frequency	annual

Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada) is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867), which united the three separate colonies of the Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single Dominion within the British Empire called Canada. Originally called Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day celebrations take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world, attended by Canadians living abroad.

Although Canada existed prior to 1867, within both the French and British empires, Canada Day is frequently referred to as "Canada's birthday", particularly in the popular press. This is a misnomer, as Canada Day is the anniversary of only one important national milestone on the way to the country's full independence, namely the joining on July 1, 1867, of the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada into a wider federation of four provinces (the colony of Canada being divided into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec upon Confederation). Canada became a kingdom within the British Empire in its own right on that date, named the Dominion of Canada. As a result, it gained an increased level of self-governance, although the British parliament and Cabinet still maintained political control over certain political areas, such as foreign affairs, national defence, and constitutional changes. Canada gradually gained increasing independence over the years until finally becoming completely independent in 1982, when the Constitution Act, 1982, fully patriated the Canadian constitution.