July 1st is Canada Day, Canada’s national holiday. It was on July 1, 1867 when three colonies, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and what was then the Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec) were brought together into a single country, the Dominion of Canada, part of the British Empire. July 1st went by the name Dominion Day until 1982, when the Canadian constitution was partriated, and it’s been called Canada Day ever since.
It’s a holiday in the country of my citizenship, so I won’t make you read about Canada. How about a couple of nice videos instead?
This one’s not even 24 hours old as of this writing — it’s a comedy piece called How to be a Canadian, by IFHT Films:
And flashing back to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, here’s Tom Brokaw explaining Canada for an American audience:
And let’s not forget that Canada’s the home of the best damned political ad ever, made by Wyatt Scott. He didn’t win, but he at least avoided ending up in last place (that honor went to the Marxist-Leninist party):