By Geoff Russ, July 1, 2025
Canada Day falls on July 1 for a reason. It is the anniversary of the date that this country came into being as an Anglo-French union in 1867, anchored in the British parliamentary tradition and determined to exist forever on the northern half of this continent.
The character of this country is what attracts people from around the world, and that character is not defined by the abstract values that have come to define modern Canada Day revelling—namely, the values associated with the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Instead, that character should be defined by continuity, memory, and an ethos of order and stability.
This is not random. It is the product of deliberate choices made by Canadian leaders who were informed by a cultural heritage.
Consider foreign countries like France, Japan, and Greece. Their traditions and history are what make them stand out in the world. They do not delegitimize their past. Instead, they recognize how it continues to shape their modern societies.
The tendency on Canada Day has moved towards elevating universal ideals like diversity, multiculturalism, and now equity or reconciliation. Many of these recent advents glorify what Canada has received from the world, not what Canada itself has stood for.
Why should Canada not treat itself as a nation, and celebrate the people and heritage that have built and sustained it on its national holiday?
From 1879 to 1982, the holiday was titled Dominion Day, in explicit reference to the creation of Canada as a self-governing Dominion of the British Empire. It was a tribute to Confederation, the process that led to the forging of Canada out of Britain’s remaining North American colonies in 1867.
The spirit of that era was animated by ambition, and the urgency to ensure that the Anglo-French presence in North America would not be swallowed up by American expansionism.
That still matters, and not for the sake of nostalgia.
Many Canadian politicians behave as if the Charter of Rights and Freedoms remade the country into a purely propositional state, rather than a nation.
Implemented by Pierre Trudeau’s government in 1982, it is no coincidence that his son Justin Trudeau proclaimed as prime minister in 2015 that Canada was the world’s first “post-national state” with no core identity. Charter culture, if it can be described as such, treats personal identity, multiculturalism, and universalism as the summary of Canada.
The younger Trudeau’s statement flew in the face of Canada’s official bilingualism, its Westminster parliamentary system, Common Law, the Crown, and the annual Remembrance Day commemorations on November 11. These are all traits of a unique people who emerged from the British Empire.
It is not a coincidence that peer countries which share in that heritage remain models for good governance, stability, and prosperity: Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore—along with Canada—all stand out because their leaders consciously chose to retain their British-style institutions in various forms after the Empire ended.
Former colonies that chose to eschew most or all traces of the Empire—such as Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and Myanmar—have a track record of despotism, misery, and mass violence.
It is an empirical fact that the British style of governance has led to the best outcomes in a postcolonial world. Italy’s former possessions include Somalia and Libya, while the largest ex-French colonies are Algeria and Vietnam.
Canada’s most attractive qualities are the product of a specific history and inheritance. Recognizing that legacy is proof of an identity—one that should be embodied by Canada Day celebrations. Rejecting such heritage because of colonial origins is the height of presentism, if not stupidity.
The data shows that Canadians are very proud of their country’s diversity, and many will toast this on July 1. There is no conflict between that and honouring the foundations of the country that made people from around the world want to be Canadian in the first place.
There has been a consistent mentality—particularly from Canadian progressives, and even from some on the right—that a modern Canadian identity must come at the expense of its colonial past. This was true of Lester Pearson’s creation of the current Canadian flag which replaced the Red Ensign. Those same notions underpinned the surreptitious renaming of Dominion Day to Canada Day.
In a mostly empty House of Commons in 1982, Liberal Hal Hebert was one of fewer than 20 MPs present when the House passed his private member’s bill which amended the Holidays Act to change the name to Canada Day.
Without the standard 20-MP quorum, the handful of MPs present passed the amendment to terminate the name Dominion Day. The bill went on to pass in the Senate, and the change became permanent.
Matthew Hayday, a professor of history at the University of Guelph, noted that, “From the end of the Second World War onwards, you had the Liberals doing things to subtly remove the word ‘dominion’ from various government institutions because ‘dominion’ was seen as being … a particularly British designation.”
The term “Dominion” has long fallen out of use as a way to refer to the country, but this does not erase Canada’s origins.
Canada’s foundations will always rest upon two founding peoples—British and French, reflected in the official languages—and the First Peoples, the first inhabitants of the land.
The Hudson’s Bay Company, which began life as a fur trading company, and recently ended its run as a department store operator, has a long story that involves all three. It is one of many examples of the collaborations, conflicts, and conciliations of the founding and First Peoples.
Canada remains a country that governs itself in the British tradition. Confederation was driven by the shared interests of the Anglo and French populations in the colonies, embodied in the partnership of leaders like John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier.
In many ways, the persistent strength of Quebec nationalism has resulted from the failures of English Canada to live up to the tenets of the founding Anglo-French covenant. The refusal of francophone Quebecers to be assimilated into the post-national vision reflects their will to not disappear.
The same can be said of Indigenous peoples, who have worked hard to retain or recover their traditions and languages.
There are lessons to be learned from Quebec and Indigenous peoples about the strength of community and common culture.
This year, the official line from the Government of Canada is, “We’re celebrating by being loud and proud! Loudly sharing what makes us proud of our strength, identity, and diversity.”
Our identity is not nebulous.
Canada Day festivities are usually packed with new Canadians and recent immigrants, and they should be offered a clear, rich, and truthful story about the country’s origins. These newcomers often come from old cultures that salute the past and all its heroes, and there is no good reason why Canada should pretend that it is different.
Our laws, economy, and way of life are not random. In fact, they are what drew people to Canada from around the world.
We have a proud history. The volunteer soldiers who fought and died for Canada in the world wars are who we still recognize as the bravest and noblest generations in our history.
All of them enlisted knowing they were fighting for a distinct people and civilization, brought into existence by leaders who spent their lives ensuring Canada would exist in the first place.
What we choose to value on July 1 speaks volumes about who we want to be. Time should not be wasted trying to reclaim the name Dominion Day or waxing nostalgically about the Empire. It should mean embracing the holiday as a celebration of our county’s distinct foundations.
Canada Day is an occasion for this country and its people. That requires standing for something beyond theoretical principles. It means standing for a nation.
Geoff Russ is a writer and policy analyst, and a contributor for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
