Canada Day at Canada Place

Metro Vancouver’s largest Canada Day event usually happens downtown at and around Canada Place. The party includes concerts and loads of fun!

Last year the Canada Day event returned with in-person concerts and celebrations. However, the event was different from what it was before the pandemic. There were no fireworks that year and there won’t be any either in 2023 as these have now been permanently cancelled.

See below for information about the following topics:

Canada Day at Canada Place | Canada Day Boat Parties | Entertainment Schedule | Canada Day Fireworks | Other Information

Click on any of the above links to jump to specific information, or continue reading to learn all about Vancouver’s July 1st celebrations at Canada Place.

CANADA DAY OUTSIDE THE ART GALLERY

In addition to all the activities that take place around Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre on July 1st, another free event happens just up the road outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. The Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival is a great event and it runs from June 30th until July 8th (but with its biggest activities on the July 1st to July 3rd long weekend).

Canada Day at Vancouver’s Canada Place

On Canada Day there are family-friendly activities by the waterfront all day, including at Canada Place and around the Convention Centre and Jack Poole Plaza.

In 2021 the event took place in an online format. In response to the discovered bodies of children at the site of a couple of Canadian residential schools, the theme for the broadcast was #CanadaTogether. There were performances by Spakwus Slolem and the Eagle Song Dancers, the bands 54•40 and Delhi 2 Dublin, and other artists.

In 2022 the event returned with in-person celebrations and is now named Canada Together. Activities were organized with local Indigenous communities and the theme was “Weaving together the fabric of a nation” that year. That same theme continues during the Canada Day festivities in 2023.

The Canada Day celebrations at Canada Place are reputedly the largest July 1st celebrations in the country after Ottawa (or at least that used to be the case in years when there were fireworks). In past years there have been tens if not hundreds of thousands of people at the festivities. There is also great music and a festive atmosphere.

For information about Canada Day events at Canada Place and downtown Vancouver, see below. Or, for information on July 1st events throughout the region, click Lower Mainland Canada Day Celebrations. To learn about festivities elsewhere within the City of Vancouver, see our article about Granville Island on Canada Day.

Canada Day at Canada Place — Canada Day by the Vancouver Convention Centre

Activities at Canada Place

To celebrate the country’s birthday, Canada Place hosts family-friendly activities from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm on July 1st in 2023.

This year’s Canada Together event features live performances throughout the day. The entertainment lineup includes Tegan & Sara, The Fugitives, Pat Chessell, Murray Porter, Missy D, Michaela Slinger, Tayos, 24 Strings, and more.

Food trucks are along Canada Place Way between Howe and Thurlow. There’s a Kids’ Zone in Jack Poole Plaza with kid-friendly entertainers, a dance party and other fun activities. The event also features Indigenous displays made by local artists.

CANADA DAY BOAT PARTIES

An exceptional way to enjoy the fireworks displays on July 1st is out on the water on a party boat cruise. Vancouver Boat Parties offers popular night club-style Canada Day cruises most year for adults ages 19+.

Entertainment Schedule

Live entertainment takes place on three stages during the Canada Place July 1st event. Below is the schedule for 2023.

On the Main Stage (in 2023)

11:00 am – Indigenous Blessing and Welcome
11:05 am – Tsleil-Waututh Warriors
11:45 am – Pat Chessell
12:25 pm – Eagle Song Dancers (Spakwus Slolem)
1:05 pm – Adam Woodall Band
1:55 pm – Murray Porter
2:50 pm – Zaki Ibrahim
3:50 pm – The Fugitives
4:55 pm – Tegan & Sara

On the North Point Stage (in 2023)

12:30 pm – Indigenous Blessing and Welcome
12:40 pm – Vancouver School of Rock
1:20 pm – Michaela Slinger
1:55 pm – Bukola
2:30 pm – 24 Strings
3:05 pm – Kardias Quing
3:45 pm – Tayos
4:25 pm – DJ O Show Set

On the Kids’ Stage (in 2023)

12:30 pm – Indigenous Blessing and Welcome
12:35 pm – Rock’N’Beau Dance Party
12:55 pm – Nations Storytime
1:15 pm – Mom Bop
1:50 pm – Storytime
2:05 pm – Vancouver Performing Stars
2:40 pm – Rock’N’Beau Dance Party
3:00 pm – Nations Storytime
3:20 pm – Rock’N’Beau Dance Party and Mascot Dance-Off
3:45 pm – Nations Storytime
4:05 pm – Perry Ehrlich’s Showstoppers
4:40 pm – Rock’N’Beau Dance Party

The Canada Day Fireworks

In past years, pre-COVID, fireworks used to be launched starting at about 10:30 pm off a barge in Burrard Inlet a ways off Canada Place. The show typically lasted for about 20 minutes. The fireworks didn’t happen in 2020, 2021 or 2022. In 2023 the organizers of the event announced that they were permanently cancelled (so they likely won’t ever happen again, at least not near Canada Place).

OTHER FIREWORKS VENUES

Many other communities around the Lower Mainland also have evening fireworks most years including in Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey, New Westminster, West Vancouver and White Rock.

Click Lower Mainland Fireworks for information about other Canada Day fireworks venues.

For information about Vancouver’s biggest fireworks events of the year (which happen at the end of July), see our article about the Honda Celebration of Light.