Happy Canada Day to everyone who celebrates it.
My daughter is going canoeing with a friend tomorrow afternoon, my son and I are going to go rock climbing and take in a movie, and then all of us are going to see Cirque du Soleil’s “Alegria”.
Anyone else have special plans?
My first Canada Day in Canada! Going to Granville Island, Vancouver, for lunch. Otherwise, nothing special. Planning to completely ignore July 4th (my old country).
I was going to wait until tomorrow, but since you started this thread: Happy Canada Day, Northern Neighbours!
I’ll bet more than half of this burg’s population will be Canadian this weekend. And it’s going to be a War Zone. Things will be blowing up all over the place. For the Grand Finale, the bay will be lit up by fireworks from Birch Point to Point Whitehorn.
Welcome, Canadians. Enjoy your stay. And Happy Canada Day to those of you who are staying in Canada, as well!
I’m going to a protest against the police actions in Toronto. I think that’s the best way to recover my national pride right now, and be as Canadian as I know how.
You go, boy. I think our day will be jam-packed full of sleeping in, gardening, going for a nice lunch, napping; you know, Canadian stuff. 
I was looking forward to free pancakes this morning. I felt sure the Canadian Tourist people would be repeating what they did last year.
Alas, no sign of them this year. But I did see a couple of Canadian flags fluttering outside one of the pubs at lunchtime. No doubt a celebration was underway inside.
It will be a busy day chez Pipers:
Brunch with PiperFamily.
Garden Party at Government House, hosted by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.
Taylor Field: Riders v. Als, to start the CFL season.
Watch Fireworks on Albert Street Bridge.
Wow, you are moving in the very best circles! Will a certain royal personage, who I gather is visiting Canada at the moment, be in attendance?
Nah, she’s busy hobnobbing in Ottawa.
Nothing special here. There’s plenty going on locally, but I think I’ll just take things easy. I think I can find time to take in a CFL game on TV, though–Toronto plays Calgary tomorrow night.
It’s open to anyone who wants to attend - it’s not like I got a hand-written invitation from His Honour’s Private Secretary… 
They seem to be relighting the Olympic flame tomorrow, so I will go check it out. I will also search for free cake. Every small town I’ve lived in had free cake. I want to find it in the big city, too.
Plus, the real event of the day is the Riders-Als match-up. We’re all waiting with bated breath to see if the team has learnt to count to 12 yet… [sob]
It sounds like it will be fun. I’ve just consulted Wikipedia. Government House looks interesting. It’s hard to tell what the gardens are like though. Everthing’s covered in snow in the photos.
Interesting. They’re styled Excellency here.
Over my head I’m afraid. What’s the significance of 12? Is it the number of players in a team?
Yes. And at a crucial point at the end of the championship game last year, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were penalized for having too many men on the field. This allowed the Montreal Alouettes another chance at scoring (and winning), which they did. In short, had Saskatchewan not had 13 men on the field, they would have won.
If you like, you can familiarize yourself with the CFL and its teams here.
It’s how many players should be on a field at once. Saskatchewan lost the Grey Cup last year because they got caught with too many men on the field.
Tomorrow…off to the Mint, where they are releasing a commemorative loonie for the 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Navy – apparently there’s a barbecue and they’re giving away a free lunch.
Most people have also taken Friday off just to have a 4-day weekend. There was a lot of traffic leaving the city this evening to go spend time at their “cottages”.
Saturday, the Queen’s here, and I’m going out Royal watching.
That bit of protocol actually illuminates a significant constitutional difference between Canadian provinces and Australian states. As I understand it, the Governors of your states are appointed directly by the Crown, and thus are entitled to be “Excellency”. Your states have constitutional roots outside the Commonwealth Constitution, correct?
However, in Canada, the provinces derive all their powers from the Constitution of Canada; they don’t have any powers that pre-date the Constitution. As well, the Lieutenant Governors are not appointed directly by the Crown - they are appointed by the Governor General and are technically federal officers. Since they’re not direct representatives of Her Majesty, they’re only entitled to “Your Honour”, not “Excellency.”
Yes, that’s correct. State Governors are appointed by the Crown, on the advice of the state Premier.
Yes, the colonies had their own constitutions prior to becoming states of the Commonwealth.
And now I’ve just received an email for Sydney’s Canadian Film Festival
Happy Canada Day fellow Canadian dopers.