Crowds started arriving early on Parliament Hill on Saturday for a day-long celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday.
There was a steady rainfall throughout the morning, creating huge puddles on the lawns where hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected for a weekend of festivities.
“Ankle deep,” said Steve Robertson of Orangeville, On., who was in town with his family. “We got here early, we’re ahead of the game.”
The rain stopped ahead of the start of the official ceremonies on the Hill at noon, when the Prime Minister and his family, Prince Charles, the Governor-General, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly and Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, arrived and shook hands with visitors near the Centennial Flame.
There were huge lineups to get through the two main security checkpoints. Once on the Hill, visitors wearing ponchos, raincoats or rubber boots, carrying umbrellas, or simply soaking wet, gathered in front of the stage for a show that will feature astronauts, politicians, royalty and stars such as Shania Twain and Bono.
The Villeneuve family were on the front row after leaving the home in nearby Carleton Place, On., in the middle of the night.
“We’re here until the fireworks,” said Suzanne Villeneuve, who packed a day’s worth of supply.
There were visitors from all over Canada and around the world, with the day’s events capping off months of planning.
“This is exciting,” said Yuna Byrne who comes from northern Manitoba and was visiting her sister in Ottawa. “There are so many different people here, all celebrating together.”
Volunteers gave hundreds of small Canadian flags to everyone arriving on the Hill.
The Canada Day agenda in the national capital includes a visit from Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and a speech from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who will reveal the names of Canada’s newest astronauts.
Trudeau and the prince sat down for a meeting this morning at Rideau Hall, where the two commiserated briefly about the conditions outside.
“We’re Canadians,” Trudeau was heard to say over the din of camera shutters. “We can handle a little weather.”
Even U.S. President Donald Trump got in on the action, tweeting his congratulations on the occasion of Canada’s birthday and acknowledging the prime minister by name, whom he described as his “newfound friend.”
In his speech, Trudeau is expected to acknowledge the tensions with Indigenous Peoples in Canada, many of whom have expressed their disdain for today’s sesquicentennial as a celebration of the country’s colonial past.
“As we mark Canada 150, we also recognize that for many, today is not an occasion for celebration; Indigenous Peoples in this country have faced oppression for centuries,” he said in the prime minister’s traditional Canada Day statement, issued early Saturday.
“As a society, we must acknowledge and apologize for past wrongs, and chart a path forward for the next 150 years — one in which we continue to build our nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown and government-to-government relationship with the First Nations, Inuit and Metis Nation.”
A teepee set up by indigenous activists not far from the stage, a source of some tension earlier in the week, has turned into an exhibit of sorts as visitors stop by to express their support or chat with the so-called “reoccupiers” of unceded Algonquin territory.
Canada 150 celebrations are taking place across the country throughout the day — and even off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador.
– With files from CP
Follow Daniel Leblanc on Twitter: @danlebla
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