Victoria Has Cancelled Its 'Damaging' Canada Day Celebrations For 2021

Victoria, B.C., has passed a motion to postpone its planned Canada Day celebrations in light of recent events in Kamloops.

"The more we reflect, the more we understand that holding the usual Canada Day celebrations could be damaging to the City's and the community's reconciliation efforts," the motion, passed by City Council on Thursday, June 10, said.

This year's celebration was set to be a virtual broadcast, like it was in 2020. Instead, the city will plan a broadcast for later in the summer — guided by the Lekwungen people and featuring local artists — that "explores what it means to be Canadian, in light of recent events," according to a statement issued by the city.

In their decision, officials noted that everyone in Victoria was welcome to continue celebrating the day "in their own way," but that now was the time for the city to "take leadership" and be thoughtful.

The decision comes after #CancelCanadaDay trended across the country, spurred in part by the discovery of 215 children's graves at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.