By Canadian Press

Celebrations, fireworks taking place in Ottawa despite air quality concerns

Jul 1, 2023 | 3:01 AM

OTTAWA — Canada Day celebrations are taking place in Ottawa and across the country on Saturday, although some have been scaled back due to poor air quality.

Canada’s capital city will see some festivities around Parliament Hill, but the main entertainment will be at LeBreton Flats, just west of downtown, where celebrations are expected to return to a sense of normalcy this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled events across the country for two years, including in Ottawa. Then last year, remnants of the “Freedom Convoy” protests that had clogged city streets that winter created tension that disrupted the day and caused some to be wary of heading downtown.

The federal Heritage Department has a slate of activities planned throughout the National Capital Region.

There will be a Changing of the Guard ceremony regularly between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET, as well as piping and drumming by the Royal Canadian Air Force at Parliament Hill. 

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If weather permits, the Air Force is also planning a flyover of Parliament Hill just after noon.

The main daytime show at LeBreton Flats begins at 11:45 a.m. ET and features performers including Pierre Kwenders, Delhi 2 Dublin, Tyler Shaw, Josiane and Marie-Josée Dandeneau, as well as speeches from dignitaries including the prime minister and Governor General.

The nighttime show features performances by Jann Arden, Roxane Bruneau, Aysanabee, France D’Amour, Les Louanges, Jojo Mason, Dax, Clerel, Madison Violet, Josh Q and Josiane.

More performers will appear on pop-up stages on Wellington Street and the Portage Bridge. There will be a temporary Inuit-heritage exhibit at 100 Wellington St., a building dedicated to Indigenous Peoples across from the Hill.

Across the river in Gatineau, Que., there will be performances, including a professional wrestling match all day in Old Hull. Canada’s national museums, including the National Gallery of Canada, will be open and admission is free.

With everything going on, many downtown Ottawa streets are closed, and vehicles will only have access to the Macdonald-Cartier and Champlain bridges.

OC Transpo is offering free service all day until 12 a.m. and a special schedule is being put in place. Para Transpo is also free and accepting reservations. 

OC Transpo recommends people heading to LeBreton Flats use the Lyon Station, and says trains will be bypassing the Pimisi station in the evening to help manage crowds coming to see the fireworks. 

Ottawa’s big pyrotechnics show is set to go ahead at 10 p.m. ET despite concerns about air quality and smoke over the last several days, but that is not the case in all of Canada’s major cities. 

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority cited rising costs for cancelling its fireworks display last year, and said the move is now permanent.  

Around Ontario, including in Niagara Falls and Pembroke, shows are being cancelled because of the impacts from ongoing wildfires. 

Fresh off a firework ban during St-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations last weekend, the party will be particularly muted in Quebec, where wildfires are still raging out of control and fire bans remain in place. 

Montreal and Quebec City have cancelled firework shows to stand in solidarity with northern regions of the province that continue to burn. 

Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Toronto are all planning to go ahead with their shows.

There are also firework shows taking place across the Atlantic provinces, including in Halifax for the first time since 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2023.

David Fraser and Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press