Revellers can expect Canada Day celebrations to look different across the country this year as smoke from forest fires blankets communities from coast to coast and some municipalities face budget constraints.
Here is a partial roundup of where public fireworks will and will not be set off this July 1.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver: The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said it decided in 2022 to permanently discontinue its annual fireworks display on the waterfront at Canada Place “primarily due to rising costs.” Instead, five city blocks at Canada Place will feature food trucks and a main stage with a diverse lineup of entertainment, including headliners Tegan and Sara.
Victoria: Fireworks over Victoria’s Inner Harbour are slated to be set off at 10:20 p.m.
Kamloops: Kamloops said it’s planning a fireworks show at Riverside Park at dusk, or approximately 9:30 p.m., weather and fire conditions permitting.
Burnaby: Burnaby’s Central Park will wrap up an evening of Canada Day festivities with a fireworks finale at 10:15 p.m.
Surrey: Fireworks will be set off from the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre in Surrey at 10:15 p.m.
ALBERTA
Calgary: Calgary is wrapping up its Canada Day festivities with a fireworks show at Stampede Park at approximately 11 p.m. Calgarians will be able to watch the fireworks from Fort Calgary and surrounding areas.
Edmonton: The City of Edmonton’s fireworks will light up the sky over Edmonton’s River Valley at 11 p.m. The fireworks will also be live-streamed for anyone who would like to watch from home.
SASKATCHEWAN
Regina: A fireworks show at 10:30 p.m. will cap off a day of Canada Day festivities at Wascana Place in Regina.
Saskatoon: In Saskatoon, Canada Day fireworks will be fired from Broadway Bridge at 10:30 p.m.
MANITOBA
Winnipeg: From 3 to 11 p.m., the province’s capital will mark Canada Day with food, entertainment, artisans and a fireworks display by Canfire Pyrotechnics at Assiniboia Downs.
Brandon: The City of Brandon will set off fireworks at the Brandon Riverbank at dusk.
ONTARIO
Ottawa: In Canada’s capital city, celebrations at LeBreton Flats Park will kick off at 9 a.m. and feature a number of activities, animations and shows presented by Canadian artists. The Tim Hortons Canada Day fireworks will light up the sky at 10 p.m.
Toronto: Canada’s most populous city will be launching fireworks at 10 p.m. from Ashbridges Bay Park, Centennial Park, Milliken Park and Stan Wadlow Park. There will be no fireworks at Nathan Phillips Square, Mel Lastman Square, Thomson Memorial Park or Fort York.
Niagara Falls: The City of Niagara Falls has suspended its fireworks display for June 30 due to the impacts of wildfire smoke in many areas of Canada, but said it expects its fireworks show on July 1 to go ahead as scheduled.
Pembroke: Poor air quality has prompted Pembroke to postpone its Canada Day fireworks in Riverside Park. The municipality said the fireworks will be postponed “until such time as fire hazard conditions improve and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry lift the Restricted Fire Zone designation for the Pembroke District.”
Muskoka region: There will be no Canada Day fireworks in Bracebridge or Huntsville due to a municipal fire ban that remains in place for all of Muskoka region. Instead, those communities will mark the day with other activities on Manitoba Street and at Muskoka Heritage Place respectively.
QUEBEC
Montreal: The organizer of Montreal’s Canada Day fireworks said the city’s fireworks display on Saturday has been cancelled in solidarity with those affected by wildfires in northern Quebec and in an effort to limit air pollution since wildfire smoke is causing poor air quality in the city. Instead, a big block party will take place in the Old Port of Montreal, starting at 1 p.m.
Quebec City: Due to the fireworks ban currently in effect in Quebec City, and in solidarity with the communities affected by wildfires, the Canada Day fireworks show on the Plains of Abraham has been cancelled. All other activities including creative workshops and performances will go ahead beginning at 11 a.m.
NEW BRUNSWICK
Fredericton: A full day of music and family-themed activities will be capped off with Fredericton’s largest-ever fireworks display, staged from the Westmorland Street Bridge, at 10:30 p.m.
Moncton: At 10 p.m., Moncton will celebrate Canada Day with a fireworks display at Riverfront Park.
Saint John: The port city is set to host a waterfront fireworks display on the Long Wharf at 10:15 p.m., weather permitting.
NOVA SCOTIA
Halifax: For the first time since 2019, Halifax’s waterfront fireworks display will go ahead. The municipality recommends watching the 10 p.m. show from the Queen’s Marque and Sands at Salter Stage or elsewhere on the Halifax-Dartmouth waterfront.
Bedford: There will also be Canada Day fireworks at DeWolf Park in Bedford at 10 p.m. The Halifax Regional Municipality said it will pay attention to safety concerns related to fireworks and remains in consultation with Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency on this issue.
P.E.I.
Charlottetown: The province’s capital is planning to launch a brilliant display of lights and colours from a barge in Charlottetown Harbour in front of Victoria Park at 10 p.m. The event will mark the 150th anniversary of P.E.I. joining Confederation as Canada’s seventh province.
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
St. John’s: The City of St. John’s will host a live concert at the Quidi Vidi Bandstand at 8 p.m. followed by fireworks at 10 p.m. If weather conditions are not ideal, the city said the fireworks will be rescheduled for the same time on Sunday.
YUKON
Whitehorse: The Whitehorse Legion is planning a host of activities on Canada Day, but they do not include fireworks. The event, scheduled to run from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., will feature a pancake breakfast, parade, bouncy castle and live entertainment from Yukon performers.
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Yellowknife: The City of Yellowknife is marking Canada Day at Somba K’e Civic Plaza with a day of free family activities, local food vendors, artisans In areas where weather conditions are poor, those planning to go to Canada Day celebrations should check with organizers on Saturday morning, in case of cancellations. live performances. The event kicks off at 1 p.m. and will not feature a fireworks display.
NUNAVUT
Iqaluit: The City of Iqaluit is hosting a Canada Day parade, but no fireworks show this year.
In areas where weather conditions are poor, those planning to go to Canada Day celebrations should check with organizers on Saturday morning, in case of cancellations.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
