In 2018 Canada Day parades, fireworks and other celebrations take place at Canada Place, Steveston Village, Fort Langley, North Vancouver and other venues.

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

Canada Day Celebrations

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.

Below is the schedule of Canada Day events and locations for 2018. 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 | Vancouver Parade

Burnaby | Coquitlam | Fort Langley | Maple Ridge | New Westminster | North Vancouver | Port Moody | Steveston Village | Surrey | West Vancouver | Whistler | White Rock

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 parade is only a 10-minute walk from there, and the evening fireworks are right next door in Coal Harbour.

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

At the Canada Place celebrations, in addition to evening fireworks, there are free outdoor concerts. Bands in 2016 included Aaron Pritchett and Sheena Easton, as well as Vancouver’s own Barney Bentall. In 2017 there was the Sam Roberts Band.

For more information on July 1st activities at this venue, click Canada Day at Canada Place.

Note: In 2017 July 1st was on the Saturday, but the parade took place the following day, on Sunday July 2nd. In 2018 the parade is scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 1st.

Canada Day Vancouver Fireworks

Best places to watch the fireworks at night on Canada Day are anywhere along the water in Coal Harbour, including Canada Place, around the Convention Centre, or anywhere 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.

Check out the Canada Day at Canada Place website for more information on the day’s activities downtown.

Vancouver Canada Day Parade

Vancouver’s Canada Day parade is normally an evening one, usually starting at around 7 pm. In 2017, however, instead of taking place on July 1st the parade took place on Sunday, July 2nd, starting at 5 pm.

2018 parade date and times are to be confirmed. It might take place on Sunday, July 1st. Or it might happen instead on Saturday, June 30th, or Monday, July 2nd.

Most years the parade goes along Georgia beginning at Broughton, and then turns down Burrard, finishing at West Pender.

Canada Day in Burnaby

Free Canada Day festivities in Burnaby take place at Burnaby Village Museum, Edmonds Community Centre and Swangard Stadium.

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

Smaller and fairly simple family-friendly celebrations also take place at Edmonds Community Centre outdoors at 7433 Edmonds Street between 11 am and 4:30 pm.

At Swangard Stadium free concerts begin at 6:30 pm and the fireworks start at dusk.

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

Canada Day in Coquitlam

Canada Day festivities take place at Lafarge Lake not far from the Lafarge-Lake Douglas SkyTrain Station from 12:00 until 10:30 pm.

The free family-friendly celebrations in Coquitlam typically include performances by a Japanese Taiko drumming group and concerts by at least a couple of popular local bands. Entertainment also includes a Battle of the Bands competition and evening fireworks. Click Coquitlam for more information.

Canada Day in Fort Langley

Fort Langley has a Canada Day parade starting at 11 am on July 1st which is followed by festivities in town and at the fort including live music, birthday cake and other family-friendly activities. Click Fort Langley for details.

Canada Day in Maple Ridge

July 1st celebrations at the Memorial Peace Park run from 10:00 in the morning until 7:00 at night. Things to enjoy at the free event include the farmers market, community BBQ, Splash Zone, multicultural parade and live concerts including the finale with the John Welsh Band. For more details click Maple Ridge.

Canada Day in New Westminster

Family-friendly activities happen at the bandstand in Queen’s Park between 11:30 am and 3:30 pm. Fireworks displays also take place at the waterfront between the Inn on the Quay and River Market at 10:00 pm. Click New Westminster for more information.

Canada Day in North Vancouver

In North Vancouver on July 1st there is a parade in the morning and a festival in the afternoon. In 2017 there were also free concerts at Waterfront Park in the evening and they may or may not occur again in 2018.

North Van Canada Day Parade

Canada Day celebrations on the North Shore begin with a parade from about 10 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 is an artisan craft market, 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.

Click North Vancouver Canada Day Celebrations for more information.

Note: the festivities at Waterfront Park go from noon until around 4 pm most years. In 2017, however, at the same venue there was a fabulous line-up of evening concerts including with The Powder Blues! Click North Shore July 1st 2017 Concerts for details.

Canada Day in Port Moody

Canada Day celebrations at Rocky Point Park are from 11 am until 10:30 pm. The Canada 150 Zone features fun activities including mini-golf and ring toss games for children between 11 am until 6 pm. The band Trooper performs an evening concert starting at 9 pm and the fireworks over Burrard Inlet finish the day at 10:30. Click Port Moody for more information.

Note: Port Moody’s Canada Day festivities are actually part of that community’s larger 4-day Golden Spike Days festival that takes place over 4 days during the July Long Weekend.

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.

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 1 and 6 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.

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 the late 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 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 performance by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Also in the afternoon there are art displays and live music throughout the village in the later part of the afternoon, and then fireworks by Skiers’ Plaza starting soon after 10 pm.

For more information on Canada Day and other July long weekend events, check out the Whistler Website.

Canada Day in White Rock

Canada Day by the Bay happens on White Rock’s West Beach between 11:30 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.

For other major events in the Lower Mainland at different times of the year, check out the Festivals and Events Calendar.