Costs of Celebrating Canada Day on Parliament Hill Nearly Doubled: Federal Records

The Canadian flag flies near the Peace tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on June 17, 2020. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The amount spent on celebrating Canada Day on Parliament Hill nearly doubled after the Department of Canadian Heritage assumed responsibility for all related expenses, federal record shows.

In 2019, the costs of the one-day observance hit almost $6 million, an 86 percent hike from $3.2 million when the department assumed all expenses shared with another federal agency, the National Capital Commission, in 2014, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The amounts, disclosed in an Inquiry of Ministry presented in the Commons by Tory MP John Nater, show a rise and fall in costs during the six-year period.  Generally, the trend is for more spending.

Specific amounts are disclosed as followed:

• $3,198,075 in 2014;
• $3,618,062 in 2015;
• $3,591,615 in 2016;
• $9,991,661 for Canada 150 observances in 2017;
• $4,505,218 in 2018;
• $5,955,048 in 2019;
• none in 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic lockdowns;
• $5,102,413 in 2022 based on incomplete figures.

“The information is based on actual costs,” staff wrote in response to Nater’s request. No explanation was given to account for the growing expenses.

The July 1 festivities were not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last cancellation of Canada Day on Parliament Hill prior to these two years was in 1976 when cabinet revoked funding as an austerity measure.

“Final expenditures are not yet available” for 2022, wrote Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez. The $5.1 million figure did not include all “invoices for contracts in place and final expenditures,” he added.

The heritage department, tasked with “ensuring yearly Canadian celebrations build trust, pride and a sense of national purpose,” found in its 2020 survey that not many Canadians tuned in to its “Canada Day Special Programming” that year.

The survey, conducted to gauge Canadians’ satisfaction with all Canada Day programming, was limited to broadcast, online and social media channels. It found that only 25 percent of the respondents watched or participated in at least one of the federal government’s Canada Day  special programs.

“The most watched of the Canada Day special programs was the virtual fireworks, viewed by one in ten surveyed Canadians,” the survey indicated.

The “National Day Virtual Show” and “National Evening Virtual Show” on CBC platforms were each viewed by only 5 percent of the respondents.

“Social media and online platforms were generally the least viewed platform for Canada Day special programming,” the department said.

The online survey was conducted based on a non-probability sample of 5,173 Canadians aged 16 and over between July 2 and July 16 of 2020. 

The equivalent margin of error for a probability study would be +/- 1.36 percent, according to the survey.