Canada’s 159th birthday drew in a huge crowd at Saskatoon’s River Landing to celebrate the day with food, performances, and shopping.
And the pride was on display; with people who spoke to Global News saying they are proud to be Canadian because of the freedom to speak your mind, the beauty of the country, and the people.
A new poll for Liaison Strategies found most Canadians are proud of their country with 51 per cent saying they are very proud to be Canadian.
Although there is a rough Canadian history, the Indigenous community is also proud for the most part.
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“We’re here to celebrate and we want this country to be strong, and we respect this land and we’ll protect this land all the time,” said Curtis Standing, a coordinator.
On Canada Day, it’s important to recognize Indigenous history, he said.
“It’s been thousands of years of history, you don’t want to neglect that stuff, and that’s the history of this land. And the land with new people coming in, where treaties and different truces were made there too. We were supposed to respect each other, take care of each other but most of all take care this land there too,” Standing said.
Standing says people can honour the history by showing respect and understanding.
“People got to understand that we’ve been here at service and we’ve done a lot. We’ve also shared this land, which is beautiful. So this land here, if we’re going to share it together, let’s respect each other and take care of it.”
Road restrictions were in place and will be gone by Thursday morning.
Watch the video above to hear more about why people are proud to be Canadian.