Canada Day is almost upon us. On July 1, we celebrate what Canadians think of as Canada’s birthday. Happy Canada Day!

In more formal terms, it is the anniversary of Confederation, or the enactment of what was then called the British North America Act on July 1, 1867.

To my American friends, 1867 seems kind of late to the party. After all, south of the 49th parallel things became official on July 4, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence.

Canada did indeed exist prior to 1867. It was established in 1791 as colonies of Britain and known as Upper and Lower Canada.

On July 1, 1867 Canada gained an increased level of political control and governance over its own affairs, while British parliament and Cabinet maintained political control over foreign affairs, national defence, and constitutional changes. 

When we entered the Come and Dine at Highclere contest, we noted the link between Highclere and Canada in Confederation. The 4th Earl of Carnarvon, Henry Herbert entertained John A MacDonald, who was to be Canada’s first Prime Minister, at Highclere on several occasions while negotiations were in progress. In fact, it was the 4th Earl of Carnarvon who introduced the British North America Act into British Parliament.

Our video of the dinner describes this connection in more detail: If the link below doesn’t work, here it is directly.

Canada’s independence gradually increased following Confederation. The Statute of Westminster was passed in 1931 and we gained complete independence in 1982 when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, father of our current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, lead the way to fully repatriate the Canadian constitution and the 1982 Canada Act was passed.

Originally called Dominion Day, the holiday was renamed in 1982 following the passing of the Canada Act.

On to the table! It had to be red and white, of course, like the Canadian Flag. Happily, I managed to track down four Rooster Red Dinner plates by Queens on eBay. 

You may remember I set a table with the salad plates, here.

I’d been keeping my eye out for the dinner plates for quite some time; I love the gingham pattern around the edge with the deliciously engaging swag pattern.

The flatware is Danieli from World Market. The whitewashed rattan placemats are from Pier 1 a couple of years ago. The napkins are from Williams Sonoma a few years ago. The red jute napkin rings are from Amazon. The red glasses are both an eBay and a Homegoods find. I got six from each place with slightly different patterns.

Happy Canada Day and Happy 4th of July to all my Canadian and American friends!

I leave you with a very fun video one of my American friends sent me a couple of years ago, describing the important similarities and differences in our two great cultures. 

Here’s the We’ve got Stronger Beer direct link, too.

And if you’re looking for something scrumptious to serve, why not go with a red & white dessert, too? Strawberry Rhubarb Torte can’t be beat!

I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.

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