As thousands of partygoers congregated on Ottawa鈥檚 Parliament Hill to watch Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla celebrate Canada鈥檚 150th birthday at the nation鈥檚 biggest bash, Canadians from across the country found other unique ways to mark the momentous occasion.

On the East Coast, approximately 75 early risers kicked off the festivities with a pre-dawn cruise off the coast of Newfoundland to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean.

Rain and low clouds didn鈥檛 dampen the enthusiastic crowd aboard the Iceberg Quest vessel Capo de Espera as they cheered and waved flags.

鈥淚t has been a wonderful experience for us and the kids. It's nice to see how much Canadians love their country,鈥� St. John鈥檚 resident Craig Simmons told CTV Atlantic.

In Nova Scotia鈥檚 Eskasoni First Nation, the Maritimes鈥� largest Mi鈥檏maq community held a celebratory pow wow to honour the preservation of their language and culture.

鈥淲e've had a really dark history as Mi鈥檏maq, as Indigenous people in this country, for the past 150 years,鈥� Chief Leroy Denny told CTV Atlantic on Saturday. 鈥淎t the same time, we honour our elders, and our residential school survivors. We're celebrating survival."

In Halifax, 53 people from 21 different countries were sworn in as new Canadian citizens at a special ceremony at Pier 21鈥檚 Canadian Museum of Immigration on Saturday morning.

Many of the new Canadians were joined by family and friends and the event attracted more than 400 spectators.

鈥淲e had hundreds more than usual,鈥� Marie Chapman, CEO of the Canadian Museum of Immigration, said. 鈥淭his place was full to capacity and overflowing, which was an amazing thing for Canada 150.鈥�

Halifax wasn鈥檛 the only city welcoming new Canadians on Saturday. There were 55 similar citizenship ceremonies held in other cities across the country on Canada Day.

In Toronto, 150 people were granted Canadian citizenship at an event held at Queen鈥檚 Park. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne presided over the proceedings and called the province and country鈥檚 diversity one of its greatest strengths.

In a more lighthearted event held at the city鈥檚 waterfront, rain-soaked attendees marvelled at a giant controversial six-storey-tall rubber duck floating on Lake Ontario, which was brought in especially for Canada 150.

Toronto staged its fireworks display around its iconic CN Tower, which made for a spectacular finale to festivities in the city.

In Montreal, a handful of protesters in the city鈥檚 Old Port held a march to voice their opposition to Canada鈥檚 treatment of immigrants, indigenous people and the environment. The group of approximately 20 protesters dressed in black chanted slogans and handed out pamphlets as they made their way through the busy tourist area.

Neither the protest or the rain were able to dampen the spirits of thousands of Montrealers, however, who turned out in droves to attend a number of the city鈥檚 parades and street parties.

Partyers in Calgary assembled at Confederation Park in the city鈥檚 northwest for a pancake breakfast and to open a time capsule from the time of the park鈥檚 opening in 1967. The capsule contained a centennial coin set from the country鈥檚 100th birthday, newspapers and other historical documents.

Instead of digging up the past, those in Charlottetown, P.E.I., the birthplace of Confederation, placed a book filled with hopes about the nation鈥檚 future inside of a capsule for future generations to open 150 years from now, in 2167.

Calgarians also took part in a world record attempt at Fort Calgary on Saturday. Approximately 3,100 participants donned red and white shirts as they stood in formation to create a living Canada flag.

Winnipeg currently holds the title of largest living flag for its effort in 2016. The city was back at it for this year鈥檚 Canada Day when 3,600 people gathered at Portage Avenue and Main Street to form a red, living maple leaf.

On the West Coast, revellers in Victoria, B.C. also mobilized in the city鈥檚 Inner Harbour to participate in their own annual living flag photo on the lawn of province鈥檚 parliament buildings.

Another gigantic demonstration of Canadian pride occurred in Vancouver鈥檚 Stanley Park where the largest Canadian flag measuring 140 metres in length and 70 metres in height was spread across the grounds.


Vancouver is marking #Canada150 in a big way: With a giant, record-breaking flag at the Brockton Oval in Stanley Park. http://ctv.news/2fm5BMk The flag stands at 140 metres in length and 70 metres in height, with a total area of 9,900 square metres to reflect the total area of Canada at a scale of 1 to 1,000,000.

Posted by on Friday, June 30, 2017

With files from CTV Atlantic, CTV Montreal, CTV Toronto, CTV Calgary, CTV Vancouver, CTV Vancouver Island and The Canadian Press