Christmas at Canada Place in Vancouver includes holiday illuminations, displays and activities along the Canadian Trail on the Promenade Deck in December.
The lights and displays are up from the end of November until the beginning of January.
The attraction features its classic Woodward’s Windows and Avenue of Christmas Trees. There are also the usual Christmas light displays on the building’s landmark sails and light sculptures along the promenade.
Christmas at Canada Place
Over the Christmas season at Canada Place there is an avenue of decorated trees, historic Woodward’s Christmas displays and colourful lights. It’s all fairly festive, mostly outdoors and free to check out!
Hours & Location
Canada Place is at the north end of Howe Street at 999 Canada Place. Its Christmas activities happen mostly along the western side of the Promenade Deck on the Canadian Trail.
This past holiday season, the lights and displays were up from November 29th, 2024, until January 1st, 2025.
Christmas at Canada Place runs throughout December. Hours of operation are from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm every day. That includes Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day.
Canada Place Christmas Activities
Things to see and do at Christmas at Canada Place include admiring the decorated Christmas trees and handcrafted Woodward’s displays.
Avenue of Christmas Trees
Spread out along the Promenade Deck at Canada Place is one of Vancouver’s best collections of decorated Christmas trees. They are put together by different businesses and organizations in the community.
There are around 24 sponsors that put together the trees. Some of the sponsors include Cirque du Soleil, Downtown Van and Global BC.
Historic Woodward’s Displays
Woodward’s was a large iconic department store in Vancouver for many years, until it went bankrupt and closed. While open, every year starting in the 1960s, the store showcased an impressive selection of Christmas displays in its windows each December. People came from far and wide to admire them.
Sadly, when Woodward’s closed in the early 1990s, the Vancouver tradition of seeing the displays came to an end. Fortunately, Canada Place purchased the displays and has been featuring them in its own Christmas exhibits annually for nearly 30 years. The handcrafted displays include Santa’s Workshop and a Candlestick Factory, among other exhibits.
Other Canada Place Activities
Since 2017, the North Point at Canada Place gets lit up with thousands of LED bulbs each Christmas. The highlight of the display is Chrismoose, a 15-foot tall moose made out of lights.
Not free and part of the official Christmas at Canada Place activities, but also very interesting, festive and highly recommended, is the Christmas at FlyOver attraction located right at Canada Place.
Other Attractions in the Area
In addition to festive things to see at Canada Place in December there are other magical Christmas things to do in the area too. The Vancouver Christmas Market is just on the other side of the Vancouver Convention Centre from Canada Place. It runs from mid or late November until December 24th each year.
Just a few blocks away from Canada Place, at the Hyatt Hotel at 655 Burrard Street, there is often Gingerbread Lane where you can admire dozens of amazing gingerbread houses until around December 31st.
There’s also Destination Downtown in Coal Harbour. The event features live entertainment on select days between late November and December. Last year there was a Ferris Wheel outside the Vancouver Art Gallery from December 1st to 24th, and there was also light installations along the seawall from November 28th until February 2025.
Other Information
See the Canada Place website for more information about Christmas at Canada Place.
Check out Top Things to do at Christmas for more ideas on places to admire Christmas decorations in the Lower Mainland. As you’ll see, other winter holiday events take place nearby include Soar with Santa at FlyOver Canada and the Vancouver Christmas Market at Jack Poole Plaza.
Check out Vancouver’s December Calendar for a list of more fun festive things to do on specific days in December.
