Canada Day celebrations in the U.S. take on a deeper meaning this year

Globe and Mail

13 hours ago

On Canada Day, the Canadian community in Los Angeles will gather to celebrate at an art deco bar in Hollywood. A DJ will spin Cancon classics and the menu will feature poutine, Caesars and Moosehead.
Unlike in past years, however, there will be no cover charge or photographer, in a bid to encourage as much attendance as possible. It will be a chance, organizers hope, for Canadian expats to commiserate after an often-stressful six months.
'It's about pulling everyone together and keeping everyone unified,' said Erin Buckley Burnett, president of Canadians Abroad of Southern California. 'We just want everyone to come to a safe place and talk and have a good time.'
For many of the estimated 800,000 Canadians living across the U.S., the holiday has taken on added meaning with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. There are worries over visa renewals amid the horror stories of people with valid work permits getting thrown into immigration detention. There is the trade war. And there are Mr. Trump's '51st state' annexation threats.
'It definitely felt more important to do it this year and get Canadians together to, for lack of a better term, unify ourselves,' said Marty Seed, who organized his 19th Canada Fest in Atlanta last weekend.
The event, held at a brewery, drew about 300 people with live music, kids street hockey and a poutine truck. New Brunswick Celtic folk-rockers Jason Martell and Corey MacDonald got the children up onstage to dance. 'I'd never seen so many families and kids attend. It was a great turnout. It was a great, fun day,' Mr. Seed said.
Toronto-based Big Sugar had been scheduled to perform, he said, but the band had to pull out after his drummer couldn't get his U.S. performers visa processed on time.
A computer programmer who lived in Halifax, Toronto and Ottawa before moving to the U.S. in 2000, Mr. Seed's prominence in the local expat network has meant he's received a lot of ribbing in recent months about his country being annexed. 'The humour didn't last too long for me, personally. It's like, okay, now you're being disrespectful,' he said.
But the Americans he spoke to at Canada Fest took the opposite tack. 'They jokingly said, 'We apologize for how our president has been treating you.''
Within his circles, he has been advising people eligible for U.S. citizenship to apply for it, to have the best chance at avoiding immigration problems. One man Mr. Seed plays hockey with, for instance, has lived in the U.S. for 30 years but has chosen to remain on a green card.
Even before Canada Day, the tidal wave of patriotism back home was washing across the border. When the Canadian Association of New York held an election-watch party in April – piping in a CBC feed – the venue was packed until after midnight, said Reena Bhatt, the group's vice-president. The event was at Terroir, a Tribeca wine bar owned by Toronto native Paul Grieco.
Ms. Bhatt, a lawyer originally from Ottawa who has lived in the U.S.'s largest city for 25 years, said she believes Mr. Carney is 'the right person for this time,' given his level-headed demeanour and economic experience running Canada's and Britain's central banks.
'Are people experiencing the patriotism? I would say yes. I always have been. I feel very patriotic, and I am even prouder to be Canadian today given who's leading our country,' she said.
The group is expecting its Canada Day party, at a bar overlooking the Hudson River in Manhattan, to sell out, as it does every year.
The most official celebration in the U.S. will be that at the Canadian embassy in Washington on Tuesday. The host, Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, is leading Canada's talks with the Trump administration for a bilateral economic and security agreement.
Arguably the most prominently located diplomatic outpost in the city, the embassy sits on Pennsylvania Avenue with sweeping views of the Capitol. The evening celebration will unfold on the building's front terrace, bringing a display of Canadian patriotism to the main street of U.S. political power.
On top of these larger events put together by the Canadian government and sundry expat groups, Canadians across the U.S. will be marking the day with more casual celebrations.
In Anchorage, Alaska, local Canadians will gather at a lake this Saturday to share food, play games and go canoeing. In Dallas, they will mark the occasion on Sunday with a DJ at an outdoor swimming pool. World Bank employees in Washington are planning a happy hour for Wednesday.
They are all examples of the coming-together that Ms. Buckley Burnett is seeing in SoCal. Many expats feel uncomfortable talking about the situation in person but have reached out to her for phone chats. Others have joined protests in recent weeks against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
A former political staffer at the Ontario provincial legislature, Ms. Buckley Burnett moved to the U.S. in 2014 with her American husband. She's settled in Santa Monica, Calif., where she works in the non-profit sector.
The diversity in her adoptive city means that the Americans she knows have been supportive of their immigrant and expat neighbours.
'The overall sentiment here is that we're lucky we're in California, because everyone has been so welcoming and made us feel at home,' she said. 'In fact, they've been talking about opportunities to move to Canada.'