30+ places to celebrate Canada Day

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Updated June 30, 2022

The forecast for Canada Day this week looks sultry, so grab your sunscreen, an umbrella and lots of water before heading out! Here are more than 30 places to celebrate our country’s birthday. All fireworks are scheduled for July 1 unless otherwise noted.

Downtown Ottawa-Gatineau

As you probably know, downtown Ottawa-Gatineau is one of the best places in Canada to mark the country’s birthday. This year, the July 1 festivities are moving a bit west of Parliament Hill, to LeBreton Flats on the Ottawa side of the Ottawa River and to Place des Festivals Zibi on the Gatineau side.

Here’s the scoop on all the Canada Day fun in the Ottawa-Gatineau core. At LeBreton/Zibi, these include a miniature train, a BMX acrobatics show, giant bubbles, Ukrainian dancers, kids’ activities, and an evening show featuring all sorts of acts, including Charlotte Cardin, Walk Off the Earth and Yukon’s bhangra dancing star, Gurdeep Pandher (see video above).

While much of the action has headed west, there are still events happening right downtown. On Parliament Hill, they include aerial performances by the SkyHawks parachute team (9am to 3pm). Update: The scheduled performance by the Snowbirds aerobatics team (3:30pm to 4pm) may be cancelled due to technical issues.

There will also be free TD Canada Ottawa Jazz Festival concerts at Marion Dewar Plaza in front of Ottawa City Hall (110 Marion Dewar Plaza).

And if you’d like to see the RCMP Musical Ride, head to the Musical Ride Centre at the RCMP Rockcliffe Stables (1 Sandridge Road). Mounties in scarlet tunics will be executing their famous intricate equestrian patterns to music all weekend, with free shows at 2pm on Canada Day, and 6pm on July 2 and 3. No tickets are required but I expect this will be very popular, so I’d arrive early, if I were you. The Musical Ride website linked above has lots of other details about parking, bus routes, things to bring and so on.

The City of Ottawa has useful tips on Canada Day beach openings, transit schedules, road closures and more.

Fireworks at 10pm at LeBreton Flats (good visibility from Place des Festivals Zibi, too).

Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

Family-friendly fun at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum on Canada Day include ice-cream making, face painting, learn-to-camp sessions with Parks Canada, Canadian trivia and more. Activities are scheduled for various times between 9:30am and 4pm. Admission is free but the museum advises visitors reserve online in advance.

Orleans

The family-friendly Orleans O Canada Day celebration returns to Petrie Island this year with bouncy castles, face painting, mini putt, Métis storytelling, and DJ and live music, between 11am and 11pm. Food and beer vendors will be on site. You can’t park on the island unless you have a handicapped-parking permit or other valid reason for parking on site, but there’s a free shuttle from the parking lot at La Cité Collégiale’s Orleans campus at 8700 Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard North. For more details on entertainment, shuttles and more, see the event’s FAQ page. Free admission. Fireworks at 10pm.

Kanata

Canada Day in Kanata at Walter Baker Park (100 Charlie Rogers Way) will feature a family fun zone, live music, a food court, magicians, a ’90s dance party, a marketplace and a midway. Fireworks at 10pm.

Stittsville

The free Canada Day party in Stittsville takes place at Sacred Heart High School (5870 Abbott Street East) from 1pm to 10pm, with a zip line, food trucks, live music and lots of other family-friendly fun. Fireworks at 10pm at the adjacent Cardelrec Recreation Complex (1500 Shea Road).

Barrhaven

Canada Day celebrations in Barrhaven will be happening at Clarke Fields Park (93 Houlahan Street). The fun starts early with a seniors’ and family breakfast (8am to 9:30am). The midway—which actually runs for four days, from June 30 to July 3—opens at 11am and runs until 11pm. On Canada Day, there will also be a kids’ zone, Indigenous entertainment, food and artisan vendors, and live music. Due to limited parking at the park, you’re urged to take the shuttle running from the Heart & Crown and McDonough’s Indpendent Grocer. Fireworks at 10pm.

Osgoode

Canada Day in Osgoode is centred on the Stuart Holmes Arena (5660 Osgoode Main Street). Attractions include a parade, bouncy castles, the Zoo Crew, a talent show, a magic show, a beer tent and live music. The parade goes down Osgoode Main Street at noon, and the events at the arena start at 1pm. Fireworks at 10pm.

Greely

In Greely, the hub of Canada Day festivities will be the Greely Community Centre (1448 Meadow Drive). It starts at 11am with a pancake brunch ($7 for adults, $4 for kids 12 and under). Free fun for the rest of the day includes tug-of-war competitions, a bike contest, magic shows and live music by the Vince Thompson Family Band. Food and drink will be available for purchase. Fireworks at 9:30pm.

Wakefield

Wakefield is holding a Canada Day parade. If you’d like to join, get to Ski Vorlage (65, ch. Burnside) by 11am. For spectators, the parade will leave Vorlage at 11:30am and make its way to the Centre Wakefield La Pêche (38, ch. de la Vallée de Wakefield) by around 12:30pm.

Mont Tremblant

Canada Day fun at Tremblant includes free concerts by Léonie Gray and Busty & the Bass, a flag raising, birthday cake and kids’ activities. Fireworks at 9:45pm.

Arnprior

The hub of Arnprior’s celebrations is Robert Simpson Park (400 John Street North) from 11am to 4pm. The free activities include a sandcastle competition, live music and carnival games. You can only park at Robert Simpson if you have a handicapped permit, but everyone else can park at the nearby Arnprior Hospital; there will be a free golf cart shuttle for those who need it.

Canada Day fun elsewhere in Arnprior ranges from a pancake breakfast to a duck race and a strawberry social. Details are available via the link above.

Fireworks will be set off around 9:45pm from an island near the Madawaska Bridge; Hydro Park (70 Madawaska Boulevard) will be the best place to see them.

Renfrew

Renfrew is throwing a free Canada Day celebration from 9am to 1pm at the Ma-Te-Way Recreation Centre (1 Ma-Te-Way Park Drive) with bouncy castles, live music, a remote control car race and more. This one’s a good bet if the weather is rotten, as many of the activities are indoors. Fireworks at dusk at Haramis Park, near the Renfrew Visitor Information Centre at the corner of Mask and O’Brien roads.

Pembroke

The free Canada Day festivities in Pembroke in Waterfront Park on Fred Blackstein Boulevard start at noon and feature all sorts of attractions (games, bouncy castles, live music, a petting zoo), culminating with fireworks. Fireworks at 10pm.

Petawawa

Along with Canada Day, Petawawa is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a free four-day party in multiple locations from June 30 to July 3. Fireworks at dusk at Garrison Petawawa on July 1.

Kemptville

Kemptville’s free Canada Day celebrations will centre on Riverside Park on Reuben Crescent and include magic shows, water gun battles, live music, bingo, bouncy castles and an obstacle course. In addition, a paddlers’ poker run will set out from Curry Park (Curry Street)) at 7:30am, and the Kemptville Legion (212 Reuben Crescent) will be hosting activities throughout the day. Fireworks around 10pm.

Oxford Mills

Free daytime festivities in Maplewood Park (Maplewood Avenue) from 11:55am to 4pm include a sword-fighting demonstration, kids’ activities, lots of live music and, intriguingly, a silent auction for a load of gravel. Barbecue goodies, crepes and ice cream will be available.

Carleton Place

Free Canada Day activities start at noon at Riverside Park (179 John Street) and include live entertainment, a petting zoo, a bicycle parade and more. Fireworks start at 9:45pm.

Almonte

In Almonte, enjoy t-shirt making, live music, a barbecue and other fun at Gemmill Park (182 Bridge Street). Fireworks at dusk.

Pakenham

As usual, Pakenham is getting a jump on the festivities with Canada Day Eve celebrations—a parade, along with face painting, live music and a barbecue—at the Stewart Community Centre (112 Macfarlane Street) on Thursday, June 30. It all starts at 6pm. Fireworks start at dusk on June 30. 

Perth

In Perth, the hub of activity is Conlon Farm Recreation Park, starting at 5pm. Enjoy a barbecue, an intro to rugby, the farm’s splash pad, a magic show and cupcakes. Fireworks at 10pm.

Smiths Falls

Canada Day fun in Lower Reach Park (Old Slys Road) is broken into two parts: more family-focused activities—think a bike parade, dunk tank, face painting and a vendors’ market— from 11am to 3pm, followed by live music, buskers and a beer tent from 4pm to 9:30pm. Fireworks at dusk.

Merrickville

Highlights of Merrickville’s Canada Day activities include a parade starting at 11:30am, followed by music and food at Blockhouse Park in the afternoon (1pm to 4pm) and at the Fairgrounds (5pm to 8pm). Blockhouse Park is at 279 St. Lawrence Street and the Fairgrounds are at 446 Main Street West.

Rideau Lakes, Westport and nearby communities

This newspaper article provides details on the following celebrations in Rideau Lakes Township and nearby communities:

• Canada Day at Chaffey’s Lock includes a barbecue, a duck race and live music from 11:30am to 2pm.
• Newboro’s celebrations start at 6pm and include a barbecue, cake, live music and a parade.
• Portland will be setting off fireworks from Cow Island at 10pm.
• In Delta, Lower Beverley Lake Park (136 Lower Beverley Lake Park Road) is hosting a three-day Canada Day weekend celebration from July 1 to 3. Check the newspaper article for details on dates and times for bingo, a horseshoe tournament, karaoke, a scavenger hunt and other amusements.
• Canada Day amusements in Westport begin with a village breakfast at 8am. In the afternoon and evening, there will be helicopter rides, a bicycle parade, live music, a barbecue and wings (times vary; check the link for details). Fireworks at 10pm.
• Bedford is holding a Canada Day breakfast with live music at Glendower Hall from 8am to 10:30am.
• Seeley’s Bay is bucking the trend by holding its events on Sunday, July 3, including an ecumenical church service, a picnic, face painting, a vendors’ market, a parade and a barbecue (check the link for times and more information). Fireworks at dusk on July 3.

Kingston

There’s lots going on in Kingston on July 1 in multiple locations, including live music, bouncy castles, Indigenous drumming and singing, a magic show and beach volleyball. Fireworks at Confederation Basin at 10pm.

Brockville

Brockville’s Canada Day commemorations are split in half. Starting at 11:45am, there will be a procession of pipes, drums, re-enactors, first responders and dignitaries along King Street to Court House Green, for cupcakes, speeches and O Canada. In the evening, fireworks will light up the St. Lawrence waterfront (rain date July 2). Fireworks at 9:30pm.

Prescott

Canada Day festivities in Prescott include sports, games and a barbecue at the Leo Boivin Community Centre (444 Prince Street), from 11am to 4pm. The Riverwalk Promenade will host a farmers’ market (11am to 3pm), and several other sites around town will offer special activities. Fireworks at 9:30pm.

Morrisburg

In Morrisburg, Earl Baker Park and Waterfront Park are the hubs for Canada Day activities, which include bingo, a petting zoo, pony rides, a chicken barbecue, a pie contest, a chili cookoff and live music. Many activities are free, but you’ll need individual tickets ($3) or an all-day bracelet ($25) for the bouncy castles and carnival games. Fireworks at dusk.

Russell

There’s lots going on in Russell on Canada Day, with a volleyball tournament, carnival games, a giant water sprinkler and a beer garden among the options at the Russell Fairgrounds (1076 Concession Street). Fireworks at 10pm at Russell High School (982 North Russell Road).

Long Sault

Long Sault’s Canada Day activities include face painting, vendors and live entertainment at Arnold Bethune Park on Simcoe Street, starting at 1pm. There will also be family activities at the Lost Villages Museum (16361 Fran Laflamme Drive) from 10am to 2:30pm. Fireworks at dusk, south of the Long Sault Plaza on the St. Lawrence River waterfront.

Cornwall

The fun in Lamoureux Park (100 Water Street East) starts with a pancake breakfast at 10am and continues all day, with everything from a beer garden and bouncy castles to a packed lineup of live music. A free shuttle bus will bring people to the park throughout the day. Fireworks at 10pm.

Hawkesbury

In Hawkesbury, the Canada Day fireworks are being promoted together with the Hawkesbury Multicultural Festival (June 30 to July 3) in Pioneers Park (351 Main Street East). Fireworks at 9:45pm on July 1.

L’Orignal

The municipal beach (772 Front Street) is the site of l”Orignal’s Canada Day festivities, which start at noon and feature bouncy castles, a waterslide and DJ on the beach, a barbecue, baked beans and live music. Fireworks at 10pm.

Lefaivre

Lefaivre is celebrating Canada Day at the Lefaivre Marina (1960 Du Quai Street) with a canoe-kayak race (starting at 9:30am), a family fun zone (10am to 4pm) and lots of live music (starting at 3pm). Fireworks at 10:15pm.

Rockland

Canada Day fun is part of the longer Clarence-Rockland Festival from June 29 to July 3 at Simon Park (1450 du Parc Avenue, Rockland). Fireworks at 10pm on July 1; get the best view at Alain Potvin Park (1245 Docteur Corbeil Boulevard, Rockland) and park at Carrefour Jeunesse, Rockland Public School or Rockland District High School.

Montreal

The main celebrations are happening on Canada Day in the Old Port from 1pm onward. Cover your ears during the 21-gun salute, learn about national parks, catch a concert…that’s just the start of the list. Fireworks at 9:45pm.

Looking for more tips on things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais, northern New York state and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend Getaway Guide.

As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.

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