Canada began federally orchestrating Dominion Day celebrations in 1958. That year, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker asked Secretary of State Ellen Fairclough to arrange an official national program.
Until then, July 1 celebrations were mainly organized by municipalities, community groups, and the governor general. Although Confederation anniversaries had sometimes prompted major events, Canada did not yet have a consistent federal celebration coordinated from Ottawa.
The new program featured ceremonies on Parliament Hill, including trooping the colour, a mass military-band concert, and fireworks. Fairclough later expanded the festivities with folk and ethnic performers, helping make the occasion more broadly representative and less formal.
The date is sometimes confused with 1967, Canada’s centennial year, when celebrations became especially elaborate nationwide. Another distinction matters too: the event was still Dominion Day in 1958. Parliament officially changed the holiday’s name to Canada Day in 1982, with the new name first used for the holiday in 1983.