Thousands of residents and out-of-town visitors attended the annual Canada Day celebration at Lions Park Steve Brown Sports Complex on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
Guests of all ages enjoyed a fun-filled day in the park as they made the most of several family-friendly activities such as the many midway rides, carnival games and pony rides.
In the vendor marketplace, a number of non-profit organizations, city departments, and local businesses set up booths to sell their wares and share more information about their various services. From crochet creations to hair accessories, jewellery and tie-dye apparel, as well as face painting services and more, there was plenty to browse and buy throughout the day.
As far as live entertainment goes, residents stopped by to see the Tim Burr Circus Lumberjack Show, which featured a tree-mendous juggling act using fire torches, multiple axes and a chainsaw.
Over at the Young Canadian Stage, several performances such as the Kiki Totally Outrageous Show, the BarryO Kids Show, a visit from Bob the Builder, and a meet-greet with PAW Patrol’s Rubble, kept the youngsters entertained throughout the day.
On the mainstage, Jocelyn June & The Bugs, The Dirt Road Travelers, Andrew Irving, Tonewheel, and Coty Robison, all spent the afternoon taking turns entertaining the crowd. As evening fell, Suzie McNeil & The Chain Reaction, and this year’s big headliner, The Trews, had the crowd singing along well into the night.
To end the celebration, thousands of residents gathered in the park and along the streets for a firework display.
Dave Carrol, Chair of the Brantford Canada Day committee, said it was great to once again be out celebrating alongside the local residents for the country’s 158th birthday.
“It’s kind of beautiful because I would say the biggest gathering of Brantfordians throughout the year happens right before the fireworks on Canada Day,” he said. “It’s pretty neat because at night, I get the unique perspective of being either backstage or out on stage, looking out at a crowd of people that stretches as far as the eye can see. That’s not an experience you get very often in life; it’s a pretty special sight.”
Carrol said that with everything that’s been happening between the United States and Canada, he was particularly looking forward to this year’s citizenship reaffirmation ceremony with Larry Brock, MP for Brantford-Brant.
“I think that this has been a year where a lot of people have stopped and had to really think about, ‘what are we? Who are we?’ Not just legally, but who are we as Canadians?” he said. “Later on today, we’re doing a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony and we’re going to have representatives from the International Villages in behind us, which, is so beautiful because it’s representative of what Canada has always been and still is. I think it’s going to be a very special ceremony, because it’s been a unique year, and I think we’ve all really taken stock of what it means to us to be Canadian.”
Carrol added that the annual event is a major production that requires many helping hands, and that it wouldn’t be possible without such an amazing group of City staff, but volunteers as well.
“This morning, I was thinking about how when you come to events like this as a kid, it feels totally different than it does as an adult,” said Carrol. “You start to realize that this is put on by real people who give up their holiday, and put in the work, so that others can come out and have fun. We have something like 200 volunteers out here today, and it really is just so inspiring because I think you can really help create the kind of city that you want through the power of volunteerism. Without it, cities just don’t function as well as they should.”
