July 1st is Canada Day (formerly Dominion Day) and celebrated not only nationally, but internationally too! Canada Day is not like “Independence Day” in other countries because we don’t have an exact date when we were born. July 1, 1867 marked when the British colonies of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick joined the then Province of Canada (later divided into Ontario & Quebec).

As you can see by the map, France and England still controlled a lot of present-day Canada. It would be too difficult to try and go over every change in control and borders, but over the years, they slowly moved control to the country of Canada with England being our “mother country”.

It was officially the Constitution Act of 1982 (part of the Constitution of Canada) which was introduced as part of Canada’s process of “patriating” the constitution. This may sound complicated, but repatriation is when a country’s power is returned to them, but in Canada’s case, it wasn’t being returned, it was being created. Thus, the term “patriation” was created, meaning “to make something part of one’s own nation.”

Now, I’m off to get ready and celebrate Canada Day downtown!! Happy Canada Day everyone! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAN!!