Why some Canadians aren鈥檛 celebrating Canada Day this year
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Ryan Yu Staff writer
| Toronto
On a typical July 1, communities across Canada light up in a sea of red and white as fireworks fill the sky and residents gather to celebrate Canada Day, often described as the Canadian Fourth of July.
But this year, with the recent discovery of the remains of hundreds of Indigenous children at former residential schools designed to eliminate their cultures, many cities and towns now plan to scale back or cancel Canada Day celebrations outright to make space for those grieving the lost.
For听Indigenous communities, the cruel reality of residential schools has long been a well-known truth, one that has rippled through their families time and time again. But for non-Indigenous Canadians, the revelations have delivered a reckoning that many say is听long overdue.
Why We Wrote This
Since the remains of Indigenous children were found at residential schools, Canadians have been struggling to answer: What does it mean to celebrate a nation with such clear moral failings in its past?
It has brought many of them to grapple with the same questions that Indigenous peoples have been asking for decades: How do we weigh the good of Canada鈥檚 past 鈥� the things that deliver a sense of national pride 鈥� against the bad? Should the country behind these atrocities even be celebrated?
Judy Wilson is one of the many Indigenous leaders who thinks that Canada Day should be canceled. She is 办煤办辫颈7 (chief) of the Neskonlith Indian Band, located just 30 miles from the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, where the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found in late May. That听discovery was followed by the location of 751 unmarked graves at the Marieval Indian Residential School in Marieval, Saskatchewan, last week.
鈥淲hat is there to celebrate at this point?鈥� she asks. 鈥淗ow do you move forward with such horrific genocide 鈥� continued genocide 鈥� where it鈥檚 been known but not really spoken of or taken seriously outside of [Indigenous] communities?鈥�
Ms. Wilson鈥檚 perspective is not uncommon among Indigenous people. Indeed, Canada Day itself is already not widely celebrated in First Nations, and some, including Ms. Wilson, reject Canadian identity entirely, describing their relationship to Canada as 鈥渁dversarial.鈥�
Similar friction between Indigenous peoples and the countries that colonized their homelands can be seen around the world. In the United States, many Native Hawaiians view the Fourth of July as a reminder of their loss of sovereignty at the hands of the American government. Likewise, Native Americans often observe a National Day of Mourning in place of Thanksgiving, reconfiguring a holiday they view as a celebration of the theft of their lands into one that honors their ancestors.
Not time to celebrate?
Although the calls to cancel Canada Day are not new, this is the first time that municipal governments are taking direct action. A few prominent cities, like Victoria and Fredericton 鈥� the capitals of听British Columbia and New Brunswick, respectively 鈥� have heeded the advice of Indigenous partners and canceled their Canada Day festivities.
鈥淗ow could we have a celebration when our neighbors 鈥� on whose homelands [Victoria] was built 鈥� were suffering?鈥� Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said in a statement to the press. 鈥淎nd how could we hold a Canada Day celebration without the Lekwungen people who have been part of the event for the last decade?鈥�
In total, more than 50 municipalities across Canada , according to Indigenous rights group Idle No More.
However, not everyone shares such views, especially outside Indigenous communities. A found that a large majority of Canadians oppose canceling Canada Day celebrations, and most major Canadian cities 鈥� including Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, the Canadian capital 鈥� have kept their existing plans in place. Some critics, including and , have argued that the calls to cancel Canada Day celebrations are counterproductive and have likened them to 鈥渃ancel culture.鈥�
鈥淚f you look at the definition of reconciliation, what it means is to bring two parties back together. [Canceling Canada Day] goes against the definition of reconciliation,鈥� says Ellis Ross, former Haisla Nation chief councilor and a Liberal member of British Columbia鈥檚 provincial parliament.
Mr. Ross pointed at Kamloops as an example, where Rosanne Casimir, 办煤办辫颈7 (chief) of the Tk鈥檈ml煤ps te Secw茅pemc 鈥� the nation that found the unmarked graves at the Kamloops residential school 鈥� is collaborating with the city to 鈥渋ncorporate messaging into this year鈥檚 virtual Canada Day event that will encourage education on Indigenous culture and heritage,鈥�听according to a statement released by the city.
鈥淐anada is a good country, and I don鈥檛 think we should be tearing it apart,鈥� Mr. Ross says. 鈥淲e should be thinking, 鈥楬ow do we build it up together?鈥欌��
But for Sara Cadeau, an Idle No More organizer of Anishinaabe descent, canceling Canada Day and recognizing the past and present flaws in Canada鈥檚 colonial system is a necessary part of building the country up. She is co-leading a #CancelCanadaDay rally in Vancouver on July 1 with fellow Idle No More organizer and Nehiyaw hip-hop artist Dakota Bear, one of many protests taking place across the country.听
Spearheaded by Idle No More and building off from last year, the movement aims to amplify the work of Indigenous leaders, inspire non-Indigenous people to action, and 鈥渟tart a peaceful revolution,鈥� according to Mr. Bear.
鈥淲e cannot fix ourselves until we acknowledge what鈥檚 broken,鈥� Ms. Cadeau says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 better to focus on the beautiful and rebuild what鈥檚 beautiful. It鈥檚 important to empower everyone to take their roles and responsibilities, whatever they may be. 鈥� That being said, we are under a constant whack-a-mole. Every single time they give some half-cooked apology, they鈥檙e out there 鈥� trying to disempower Indigenous leadership. They鈥檙e out there right now, smashing on Indigenous people who are protecting [the environment].鈥�
鈥淲e will continue to stand and rise 鈥� as long as this duplicity is ongoing,鈥� she adds. 鈥淧art of that is not celebrating Canada Day.鈥�
