On Canada’s 152nd birthday people dressed in red and white descended on Queen’s Park with blankets and baskets to celebrate their country.
On July 1, the south lawn at Queen’s Park hosted the “people’s picnic.”
It was a hastily arranged event by Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter, who said she decided there needed to be a party after the Progressive Conservative government cancelled this year’s planned celebration citing declining attendance.
“Nobody cancels Canada Day,” she said while speaking to reporters under the hot sun. “This is an opportunity to celebrate our province and our country.”
In her remarks, Hunter talked about how much Canada has given her family after they moved here from Jamaica 40 years ago and she said she would like to see Canadians boast a bit more about how great the country is.
“We need to talk about how great Canada is. Canada is one of the best countries in the world on so many measures.”
That sentiment was echoed by former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Katie Tsuyuki, was has travelled the world extensively representing the country. She said she still thinks, “Canadians could be a little more vocal, and a little more able to show their national pride.”
Two people not afraid to show their pride were a man who identified himself as “Mr. Canada” and Michael Litvack. They were decked out head to toe in Canadian memorabilia and they were crisscrossing the legislature’s lawn wishing everyone a Happy Canada Day.
The pair has been meeting on Canada Day for the past 15 years.
Litvack said he calls Canada Day his favourite day of the year.
“I think today is the day to show our pride in our country,” he said. “We’re not people that need to run around feeling egotistical about things, but we are proud and we may seem like we keep it to ourselves, but we really love our country.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government cancelled the legislature’s Canada Day celebration last month. The government said they were cancelling the celebration that costs more than $400,000 due to declining attendance.
The government instead put up to $80,000 toward free admission at attractions around the province.
