In 2020 Canada Day parades, fireworks and other July 1st events are in Vancouver, Steveston Village, North Vancouver and other locations.

More top venues include Vancouver’s Canada Place, West Vancouver’s John Lawson Park, Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium and Burnaby Village Museum, Surrey‘s Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre, Coquitlam’s Lafarge Park, Fort Langley, Squamish, Whistler Village and the list goes on.

PORT MOODY & BURNABY CANCEL CANADA DAY CELEBRATIONS

As of March 24th, Port Moody was the first Canada Day event to be officially cancelled in the Lower Mainland due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. On that date the organizers of Golden Spike Days, which is a festival that normally takes place on Canada Day as well as a few days before, announced that they would not be holding the event this year.

On March 27th the City of Burnaby announced that it too would be cancelling its Canada Day events which take place at Edmonds Community Centre, Burnaby Village and Swangard Stadium.

No doubt these won’t be the only July 1st event to get cancelled in 2020.

To learn about other Lower Mainland events that won’t be happening due to the pandemic this year, see our article about Metro Vancouver Cancelled Events and COVID-19.

Canada Day Events in Greater Vancouver

Canada Day takes place on July 1st each year and throughout the Lower Mainland there are celebrations of all kinds including pancake breakfasts, parades, live entertainment and fireworks.

To learn about all Canada Day events and activities in Metro Vancouver, see below. For information about where to see fireworks, click July 1st Fireworks.

Below is the schedule of Canada Day events and locations for 2020. Click any of the links below to jump to a venue of interest, or scroll down to see all locations.

Canada Place | Burrard Inlet Fireworks

Canada Day at Canada Place

The area around Canada Place in downtown Vancouver is without a doubt one of the best (and busiest) places to be on July 1st.

The festivities at Canada Place claim to be the second largest Canada Day celebrations on the planet, next only to those in Ottawa, Canada’s capital. There are live performances at Canada Place for much of the day, and thousands of people.

At the Canada Place celebrations, in addition to evening fireworks, there are free outdoor concerts. Bands in past recent years have included Aaron Pritchett and Sheena Easton, Vancouver’s own Barney Bentall and the Sam Roberts Band. For 2019, two Vancouver-based bands – Bitterly Divine and Blonde Diamond – are performing, along with several other great artists.

2020 details are to be confirmed.

Canada Day Vancouver Fireworks

Best places to watch the fireworks at night on Canada Day are along the water in Coal Harbour, including Canada Place, around the Convention Centre, or from many places along the Coal Harbour seawall between the Convention Centre and the Vancouver-facing side of Stanley Park.

Views of the fireworks are also really good from North Vancouver, including from Lonsdale Quay, the pier by Shipbuilder’s Square and Waterfront Park.

Click July 1st Fireworks for more details.

Vancouver Fireworks — Fireworks views from Stanley Park

Canada Day in Abbotsford

Abbotsford celebrates July 1st with a parade, outdoor concerts, festival activities and fireworks at Abbotsford Exhibition Park. The parade starts at 11:00 am, the festival runs from 1:00 until 10:00 pm, and the fireworks blast off at 10 o’clock.

2020 details are to be confirmed.

Click Canada Day in Abbotsford for details.

Canada Day in Burnaby

Canada Day festivities in Burnaby usually take place at Burnaby Village Museum, Edmonds Community Centre and Swangard Stadium. All three events, however, have been cancelled in 2020 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The Burnaby Village event usually runs from 11:00 am to 4:30 pm and is both educational and fun, especially for families and children.

Smaller and fairly simple family-friendly celebrations also usually take place at Edmonds Community Centre at 7433 Edmonds Street between 11:00 am and 2:30 pm.

In years when the event doesn’t get cancelled, at Swangard Stadium free concerts begin at 6:15 pm and the fireworks start at dusk.

See Canada Day in Burnaby for more details on activities at each venue.

Canada Day in Coquitlam

Coquitlam’s Canada Day festivities take place at Lafarge Lake not far from the Lafarge Lake – Douglas SkyTrain Station from 12:00 until about 10:30 pm.

The free family-friendly celebrations in Coquitlam include food trucks, community information booths, outdoor concerts and evening fireworks.

Click Coquitlam on Canada Day for more information.

Canada Day in Fort Langley

Fort Langley celebrates Canada Day at the historic fort with family-friendly activities. The nearby BC Farm Machinery & Agricultural Museum and Langley Centennial Museum are both also open on July 1st. The two museums also host the town’s main Canada Day festivities in the street outside.

Click Canada Day at Fort Langley for details.

RCMP at Fort Langley — Canada Day in Fort Langley

Canada Day in Maple Ridge

July 1st celebrations at the Memorial Peace Park usually run from 12:00 in the afternoon until 6:00 in the evening.

Things to enjoy at the free event include the farmers market, pony rides, community barbecue, live music, a Canada Day Flyover and family-friendly games.

For more details click Maple Ridge on Canada Day.

Canada Day in Mission

Canada Day festivities take place in Mission from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm at Fraser River Heritage Park on July 1st in 2020. Activities there include a pancake breakfast, yoga, live music, dog agility demonstrations and all kinds of fun things.

At 8:30 pm admission to Mission Raceway Park is free and that’s where the fireworks take place starting at 10:00 pm.

Click Canada Day in Mission or more information.

Canada Day in New Westminster

New Westminster has a few events taking place on July 1st.

The New Westminster Multicultural Festival is put on by the New Westminster Philippine Festival Society. Free family-friendly activities happen at Pier Park between 2:00 and 10:00 pm.

The official New Westminster Canada Day event happens at Queens Park. Crafts, live music and family-friendly activities run from 11:30 until 2:30 pm.

Another annual event takes place on Canada Day at Westminster Quay – the Hyack Festival’s market and evening fireworks. Entertainment starts at 2:00 pm and the pyrotechnics blast off at 10 o’clock.

2020 details for these events are to be confirmed.

Click Canada Day in New Westminster for further details about the above three events.

Canada Day in North Vancouver

In North Vancouver on July 1st there is a parade in the morning and a festival in the afternoon. The festival boasts bouncy castles, food trucks and free entertainment. It’s a great family-friendly community event.

Click North Van July 1st Celebrations for full details about the afternoon festivities in 2020.

North Van Canada Day Parade

Canada Day celebrations on the North Shore begin with a parade starting at about 10:00 am. The parade route goes along 13th Street from Grand Boulevard before heading down 17th Street via Lonsdale Avenue to Mahon Park. The best place to view the procession is by 14th and Lonsdale, although this is also the most crowded.

Canada Day at Waterfront Park

North Vancouver’s main Canada Day celebrations are an afternoon event, with family-friendly activities and entertainment on July 1st at Waterfront Park, which is just a short walk from the SeaBus terminal at Lonsdale Quay.

At the North Vancouver Canada Day celebrations there are kids’ activities, food vendors, dancers, live music, bagpipes and other performances by local Vancouver and North Shore talent.

If you plan to be on the North Shore in the afternoon on July 1st and want to celebrate Canada’s birthday, then Waterfront Park is the place to be!

Performers at the North Vancouver event in 2019 included the Marcus Mosely Chorale and The Day Trippers (which is a great Beatles tribute band). Both are exceptional. Other great groups performed too. 2020 details are to be confirmed.

Click North Vancouver Canada Day Celebrations for more information.

Canada Day in Port Moody

(Note: Golden Spike Days, and so the City of Port Moody’s Canada Day celebrations, have been cancelled in 2020 because of concerns about the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.)

Canada Day celebrations at Rocky Point Park were going to be from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm on July 1st in 2020. Family-friendly activities were going to include an import car show, boat rides and live entertainment all day.

Note: Port Moody’s Canada Day festivities are actually part of that community’s larger Golden Spike Days festival that takes place over four days during the July Long Weekend.

Click Port Moody for more information.

Canada Day in Squamish

Canada Day is celebrated in Squamish with a parade, community festival, live music and fireworks.

The parade takes place in the morning along the town’s main street. Then, after the opening ceremonies, there is a festival at Junction Park with live music and family-friendly activities. Later, in the evening, there is more live music, a beer garden and fireworks at Brennan Park.

Click Canada Day in Squamish for more details.

Steveston Village Salmon Festival

One of the best times to visit historic Steveston Village in Richmond is on Canada Day when the community attracts up to 70,000 people to its Salmon Festival which features a pancake breakfast, parade, Japanese cultural fair, craft fair, music concerts and a world famous salmon BBQ.

Check out the Steveston Salmon Festival for more information.

Steveston Village Canada Day Parade — Canada Day Parade in Steveston Village

Canada Day in Surrey

Some of the largest celebrations in the Lower Mainland take place at the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre in Surrey at 176th Street and 64th Avenue. As with most other top Canada Day festival venues, admission is free. There are, however, amusement rides for which tickets cost about $1.25 and each ride requires between one and six tickets.

In addition to all the midway rides, games and food vendors, the Surrey Canada Day event also features live music concerts throughout the day, finishing with the star attraction at the end, just before the fireworks which start at about 10:15.

For more information, check out Surrey Canada Day Festivities.

Canada Day RCMP in Surrey — Canada Day in Surrey

West Van Red & White Picnic

West Vancouver hosts its Canada Day celebrations at John Lawson Park, with the District’s Red and White Picnic running from mid-afternoon until the end of the fireworks. At this community event participants are invited to bring their lawn chairs and picnic dinners and enjoy a variety of live entertainment performances.

While fireworks take off from a barge in the water off Coal Harbour in downtown Vancouver, a similar barge on the waters just off West Vancouver’s John Lawson Park is the site for a second series of pyrotechnics. Places to watch the display include the beaches at Ambleside, John Lawson Park and Dundarave.

Click Red & White Picnic for more information on the West Vancouver Canada Day celebrations.

Canada Day Concert at John Lawson in West Vancouver

Canada Day in Whistler

Less than a two-hour drive from Vancouver, more fabulous Canada Day celebrations take place up at Whistler.

On July 1st most years there’s a pancake breakfast, parade and a free outdoor concert. Also in the afternoon there are art displays and live music throughout the village in the later part of the afternoon. Fireworks blast off from the top of the mountain at the end of the day.

For more information on Canada Day and other July long weekend events, click Whistler on the Canada Day Weekend.

Whistler Village on Canada Day — Canada Day in Whistler

Canada Day in White Rock

Canada Day by the Bay happens on White Rock’s West Beach between 10:00 am and 10:30 pm. Activities there include a sandcastle-building competition, free concerts, family-friendly activities and fireworks.

Click White Rock for more information.