Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canadians have shown courage, conviction and connection over the past year in the face of a more dangerous and divided world, and urged unity as he spoke to a crowd in the nation’s capital on Canada Day.
“The founding idea of Canada is simple: unity does not require uniformity,” he said in French.
Carney said the country was formed on partnership and accommodation, rather than assimilation and domination.
He said Canadians have stood strong and unflinching in the face of global challenges, “working together, resolutely, to build our future. Because in a crisis, fortune favours the bold.”
The prime minister began the day’s celebrations on Wednesday serving pancakes in his own riding in rural Ottawa.
He planned to end it with an event in Edmonton, where national unity is top of mind as Alberta prepares for a fall referendum that could lead to a vote on separation from the country.
Canada, Carney said Wednesday in Ottawa, is “worth fighting for.”
Carney’s speech also paid homage to Jeremy Hansen, the only Canadian to make the historic trip to the dark side of the moon earlier this year aboard NASA’s Artemis 2 mission.
Hansen took the stage after Carney, greeting a crowd of several thousand people at the day’s main festivities in a field a short drive from Parliament Hill at LeBreton Flats Park.
Canadians are gathering across the country on Wednesday to celebrate a country grappling with a changing world and emerging separatist movements — and scorching temperatures in some regions.
“It’s the best country in the world, not without nuance or complexity,” Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller told The Canadian Press.
“We’re a country that’s built on freedom, respect for others, but a shared sense of values that are enshrined in a lot of things.”
Miller is expected to address the crowd at the national celebration in Ottawa, where celebrities and dignitaries will take the stage to mark 159 years of Confederation.
Celebrations large and small were taking place across the country.
Environment Canada has issued heat warnings from Ottawa through Toronto to Windsor, Ont., cautioning people to take measures to prevent heatstroke due to hot, humid air. The agency issued an orange alert, which it says are “uncommon” indications of weather “likely to cause significant damage, disruption, or health impacts.”
In the national capital, Carney and other dignitaries wore portable fans around their necks during the noon ceremony as the mercury soared.
There are less severe, yellow heat warnings in effect for New Brunswick and northern parts of Ontario and Quebec.
This year’s festivities come as separatist tensions in Quebec and Alberta are on the rise. Albertans will vote this fall on whether to remain in Canada, or hold a binding referendum on separation.
Carney again called for unity in a video published Wednesday morning.
In it, he said Canada was founded on the “great conviction that we are strongest when we’re united.”
Carney added that Canada is a land of kind, compassionate and hard-working people.
Wednesday is Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour’s first Canada Day as the King’s representative.
She said in her own video message that she was always very proud to identify herself as Canadian as her career took her around the world.
Arbour said Canada is a country that “shines in many spheres” but is realistic about the challenges ahead.
“We are a country always striving to do better,” she said.
“Our work toward reconciliation and amplifying Indigenous voices is a good example of this, and one that has not gone unnoticed on the global stage.”
Arbour said Canadians inspire in her a sense of pride, ambition and confidence.
“Let’s celebrate together what unites us, not in spite of our differences, but through them,” she said.
Last year’s celebrations touched heavily on U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated talk of annexing Canada. Miller said that was one of the moments that brought Canadians together over the past year, along with more joyful times such as Canada’s winning goal in last Sunday’s World Cup match.
“We’re a beautiful project in the making,” he said, adding that the U.S. is “sabre-rattling and behaving in a way that we don’t recognize what was our best friend.”
American Ambassador Pete Hoekstra made no reference to that rhetoric in a written message Wednesday morning. He instead hailed the close U.S. relationship with Canada, saying the ongoing co-hosting of the FIFA World Cup “is just the latest example of our collaboration fostering international success.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a similar tone.
“The United States and Canada partnership, both in our Hemisphere and abroad, remains crucial as we advance security, strength, and prosperity at home,” Rubio wrote.
Miller said the holiday is a chance to reflect on the freedoms people often take for granted, and the contributions of “two founding peoples and the Indigenous peoples that were here before us.”
It’s also a time to have fun, he said.
“Canada Day is a chance to go out and eat some hotdogs, drink beer, listen to some tunes and just relax,” Miller added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2026.
By Dylan Robertson and Sarah Ritchie | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.