On July 1st each year there are Canada Day festivities throughout the Lower Mainland including in the Shipyards and Lower Lonsdale area of North Vancouver.

For the past three decades the Rotary Club of Lions Gate has hosted North Vancouver’s main Canada Day celebrations. The local service organization was back at it in 2025. The celebrations take place at the Shipyards. It’s a great event, at a fabulous venue, and highly recommended.

Continue reading or visit the rotarylionsgate.com website for details about what happens in North Vancouver on July 1st.

Canada Day at the Shipyards

In the past, North Vancouver’s main Canada Day celebrations used to happen at Waterfront Park. That’s where the Rotary Club of Lions Gate hosted an afternoon of live music and family-friendly activities for many years. In 2022 the Rotary Club hosted free Canada Day activities at the Shipyards instead, and the new location has continued since that date.

In Shipbuilders’ Square there is live music in the afternoon. Along the waterfront and in front of the Polygon Gallery there are other things to see and do too. In Shipyard Commons (where the skating rink is in winter), there is a splash park. Also in the area are a number of food trucks. Kid-friendly activities happen indoors at the Pipe Shop and there’s a beer garden on Cates Deck. Youth sports happen on St. Roch Landing and the works of young artists are on display on the east side of the Polygon Gallery.

Thousands of people attend the event each year. North Vancouver’s Canada Day festivities happen typically between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm on July 1st, but the beer garden continues until 7:00 pm.

Some years the Canadian Navy has a number of ships along the Burrard Dry Dock Pier on Canada Day, and this was the case again in 2025. On July 1st there are free tours of the HMCS Regina Ship between noon and 5:00 pm. The ships remained by the dock until Sunday, July 6th in 2025.

Click Canada Day in North Vancouver for the event’s official website.

Mostly Marley on Rotary Canada Day Stage — Mostly Marley on the Rotary Stage

Canada Day Entertainment Lineup and Schedule of Activities

Around six local groups typically entertain the crowd at the event. Live entertainment on the Main Stage in 2025 included the following acts.

11:00 pm – JP Fell Pipe Band
12:00 pm – Mostly Marley
1:00 pm – Amir Raad and DJ FWM
2:00 pm – Melanie Dekker
3:00 pm – Dino DiNicolo and the Sound of Soul
3:30 pm – The Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy
4:00 pm – ShowStoppers Vancouver
4:30 pm – The Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy

Other activities along with their times and locations in 2025 were the following:

Opening Ceremony – on the Main Stage in Shipbuilders’ Square at 11:00 am
Children’s Play Area – in the Pipe Shop starting at 12:00 pm
Community Exhibits – along Wallace Mews from 11:00 am until around 5:00 pm
Live Entertainment – Main Stage in Shipbuilders’ Square from 11:00 am
Royal Canadian Navy – Burrard Dry Dock and St Roche Pier all day
Young Artists in Action – on the east side of the Polygon Gallery
Beer Garden – on Cates Deck between 12:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Food Trucks – along Wallace Mews

North Vancouver Canada Day Video

Check out the video below for an idea of what the Canada Day celebrations look like. The video shows scenes of the event from 2022.

As you’ll see, the festivities are spread out all over the Shipyards District, from Cates Deck in front of the Polygon Gallery to the Burrard Drydock Pier. Some years (but not all) there are a couple of Canadian naval ships that people can board and explore. Artists also have displays along the dock some years, although by the Polygon Gallery in 2025.

Canada Day Sponsors

North Vancouver’s Canada Day celebrations are hosted by the Rotary Club of Lions Gate. The Canadian Government and City of North Vancouver are also financial supporters, as are organizations like Seaspan and Neptune Terminals. Other community businesses and organizations are also sponsors including Vancouver’s Best Places, Adaptive Marketing and RE/MAX Crest Realty, among others. The event is also sponsored by the North Vancouver Recreation & Culture which is the same organization that hosts the free Live & Local Music Series on the North Shore in the summer.

Click Canada Day in North Vancouver for the event’s official website.

About the Rotary Club of Lions Gate

The Rotary Club of Lions Gate is a club of professionals, business people and folks who like to make a difference in their community and the world. A focus of the Club is Youth at Risk and many of the club’s projects reflect that dedication to youth both locally and abroad.

The Rotary Club of Lions Gate is a service club that meets at Capilano Mall in North Vancouver at noon three or four times a month.

See the Rotary Club of Lions Gate website for more information about the service club behind North Vancouver’s Canada Day event. Interested in meeting a dynamic group of people and making a difference? Then check them out. Rotary is an incredible organization and the Rotary Club of Lions Gate is an exceptional club.

There are Rotary Clubs all over the Lower Mainland, and they all do wonderful things for their communities. Awesome events hosted by other Rotary Clubs in the region at other times of the year include Port Moody Ribfest in July, Ribfest Langley in August, the White Rock Polar Bear Swim on January 1st, and Search for the Perfect Pint in May.

Cates Deck on Canada Day — Cates Deck on July 1st

Other Events at the Shipyards

Lots of events happen at the Shipyards in North Vancouver. The Canada Day event is one of the biggest and best. Other great ones include the Shipyards Night Market which takes place on Fridays between May and September. There is also the Vancouver Polish Festival and Shipyards Festival in September. New for 2025, on July 13th there was also Festivibe which was hosted by the Kids Life Foundation.