Happy Canada Day! July 1 marks the 158th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, which dates all the way back to 1867. Canada has an imperfect history, but there's plenty to celebrate, too — especially in an era of increasingly bellicose rhetoric from the United States.

Truth and reconciliation

Though inflation and housing costs have captured the news cycle, we're still focused on truth and reconciliation, recognizing and honouring the culture and history of Canada's Indigenous peoples.

If you're interested in learning more about Indigenous histories and cultures, consider checking out Reconciliation: A Starting Point, a mobile app built to help users understand reconciliation, and why it matters.

Going even further, you can explore Indigenous Canada via a University of Alberta program established on coursera, or read up on Indigenous history across Canada.

Canada Day celebrations

No matter what you're doing this Canada Day, consider taking a moment of silence at 7 pm on July 1. Offer a few quiet moments to contemplate what you're grateful for, and how we can pull together to improve upon the failures of the past.

You can take part in Canada Day celebrations across the country. Your community may have something special going on too! Check out ToDoCanada.ca for local celebrations near you.

Somehow, these celebrations and rituals are as important as they ever have been: after all, Canada will never be the 51st State! Developing and strengthening our diverse Canadian identities helps us all feel more connected.

Take the Canada Day quiz

Canada Day is about more than reconciliation, though. Canadian culture is diverse and multifaceted. In that spirit, we've built a Canada Day quiz with 20 questions guaranteed to get you thinking! Do you know what a toque is? Or what flavour of potato chips you can only get in Canada?

Take the quiz and find out how well you know Canada! Can you get 100% correct? Good luck!