OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canadians are “blessed to live in the best country in the world,” and in his annual statement marking Canada Day, he says that good fortune is not an accident.
Harper says it is the result of visionary leaders, courageous men and women in uniform, waves of industrious immigrants, and decorated athletes who unite us and Canada’s families.
He says there are “moms and dads, sons and daughters who work hard every day, in their own way, to help make Canada a better, stronger, more prosperous country.”
The prime minister’s statement calls on Canadians to “celebrate the people who make Canada great” and to rededicate themselves to the service of the country.
Harper was set to join Gov. Gen David Johnston and other dignitaries on Parliament Hill for a noon show celebrating the country’s 148th birthday.
Thousands of revellers were expected to attend the annual Canada Day show and take in a variety of ceremonial events, shows, activities and fireworks. The festivities were to include a wide range of musical performances from such artists as Kiesza, Magic and Shad on Parliament Hill and at other venues around Ottawa.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was due to attend Canada Day events in southwestern Ontario. He issued a holiday statement that lauded Canada as “a place of fairness and of opportunity; a place where people from every imaginable country and culture, who speak every language, live and work, and build and thrive together.”
Trudeau added: “We are stronger not in spite of our differences, but precisely because of them. For much of the world, Canada represents the most hopeful vision of what the future can look like.”
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, meanwhile, was set to take part in various festivities in Toronto.