Fisgard Lighthouse, Esquimalt Harbor, Colwood, British Columbia, Canada
© davemantel/Getty Images
Canada Day - Cheers to Canada!
Today, Canada celebrates its national day. It commemorates the passing of the Constitution Act of 1867, which joined three British colonies, the Province of Canada (later Quebec and Ontario), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, to become the self-governing country of Canada.
Canada is the second-largest country by landmass after Russia. Eighty percent of its land is unoccupied and every corner abounds in natural treasures—like the Great Bear Rainforest, the Northwest Passage, the Columbia Icefield or the Haida Gwaii archipelago. Celebrations including parades, fireworks, and other patriotic festivities will be held across this huge country today. Among those hosting events will be the Fisgard Lighthouse, pictured on our homepage looking out over Esquimalt Harbor in Colwood, British Columbia. The tower was the first lighthouse on the west coast of Canada, built on Fisgard Island in 1860.