Make Your Canada Day Unforgettable with These 10 Activities

On July 1st in 1867, the British North America Act, or Constitution Act, united the three British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a self-governing confederation called the Dominion of Canada.

The holiday was first created in 1879 as Dominion Day, and it grew in popularity over the following century. With the Canada Act of 1982, the country gained complete independence from Britain, and the observance was officially renamed Canada Day (Fête du Canada). 

Canada Day is right around the corner! If you’re not sure how to celebrate this year, don’t worry — we have a complete list of fun activities that are guaranteed to make this Canada Day the best one yet. From camping to barbecues to fireworks, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. 

Celebrate Canada from your own backyard! Enjoy activities such as mini hockey, creating a beaver puppet show, making red and white themed crafts, or even set up an Olympic sports challenge for a little friendly competition. When you start to get hungry, fire up the grill for some delicious BBQ.

Take advantage of the holiday being close to a weekend this year, and plan a road trip to celebrate! Visit some places you’ve never been to and stop at some of Canada’s historic landmarks. What could be more fun than a road trip and learning more about Canadian history? A few notable landmarks include the Banff, Hotel de Glace in Quebec City, and Niagara Falls, just to name a few. Check out more of Canada’s landmarks here.

Sleep under the stars, sit around the campfire, and make s’mores! If there isn’t a campsite near you, setting up camp in your own backyard is just as fun. As long as you have some fun music, good food, and a campfire set up to make food, you’ll have a great time. Just don’t forget the bug spray!

It wouldn’t be a holiday without enjoying some delicious food and tasty drinks, would it? Make a traditional Canadian dessert, some patriotic red and white popcorn, or add maple syrup to just about anything!

Get outdoors and enjoy the beautiful nature that Canada has to offer. If there is a lake or spring near you, grab some friends, a cooler of snacks and refreshments, and head over to spend a day on the water. Rent some tubes or a boat if you’re looking for some extra fun on the lake.

Bring a pop of color into your Canada Day by attending a virtual firework show. A simple google search of your local area will help you find where your town is putting on a show in the sky! If that doesn’t yield any results, then this is the perfect excuse to buy your own fireworks and put on a private show for your family.. You can find fireworks at most big shops. Rocket Fireworks, Kaboom Fireworks, and Victory Fireworks are among some of Canada's big Fireworks shops. Of course, follow instructions and be safe!

Check out our blog featuring the top 5 places to celebrate Canada Day here.

7. Get Active - Host a Sporting Tournament      

Canada day is the perfect opportunity to host a sporting challenge. A little friendly competition, and subsequently, the chance to earn bragging rights will keep all entertained. Made up of several physical and mental challenges - Winning field day requires both teamwork and performance. For a successful field day, there are a couple of things you want to do in advance: 

1. Decide How to Measure the Competition - This includes how many members can be on one team, how many points to win, and the prize. 

2. Find the Right Challenge Level - the same as measuring the competition, this is going to depend on the age group and competitive level of your friends and family. This will help you decided which games to choose and how hard you will make winning them.

3. Keep the weather in mind - make sure to have a backup plan in the event of bad weather. This could be an indoor space that fits your group or overhead covering outside that will allow you to continue the event.

4. Plan your games and the order in advance - this is for the sake of keeping the stress of the host and the attendees down. There will be no guessing the day of,  and everyone will know what members to choose for challenges in advance. Here are 101 Field Day Games.

8. Throw a themed party

An activity that will add some extra fun to your Canada Day get is hosting a themed party. Choosing a historical figures theme will help your guest get into that extra patriotic spirit. Imagine grilling hot dogs with some of the founding fathers of Canada. Here is a list of historical figures to choose from.

You can also test each other's knowledge of your county by playing trivia games and quizzes.

Canadian Encyclopedia provides a 10 question, how well do you know Canadian history quiz. Here you will find a complete trivia match, with everything from Canadian geography to famous people.

9. Learn Something New

Learning something new about our country's history and reading stories about the past can be a great way to celebrate such a historical holiday. This Canada Day make an activity out of learning by consciously searching up a part of history you’re not entirely familiar with. There is a lot of history that gets overlooked, so this can be a way to enlighten yourself and those around you about everything that happened for us to get to where we are now.

10. Play Hockey

As we know, ice hockey is a favourite sport here in Canada. Known for being fast-paced and physical, nothing says Canada Day like organizing your friends and family for an ice hockey match. To make this more fun, get team shirts made and a trophy to give to the winners.

Whether you decide to do some shopping or go all out and plan a family field day, these 10 activities will make your Canada Day celebration unforgettable!