Dominion Day

Dominion Day was a day commemorating the granting of dominion status in certain countries. It was an official public holiday in Canada from 1879 to 1982, where it was celebrated on 1 July. That date is now known as Canada Day. There was also a Dominion Day public holiday in the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1907 to 1949, celebrated on 26 September.

Canada

Crowds on Parliament Hill, Ottawa celebrate Dominion Day, 1927, the 60th jubilee of Canadian confederation

Dominion Day was the name of the holiday commemorating the formation of Canada as a Dominion on 1 July 1867. It became an official public holiday in 1879.^[1] The holiday was renamed to Canada Day by Act of Parliament on 27 October 1982.

Newfoundland

Dominion Day was the name of the holiday commemorating the formation of Newfoundland as a Dominion on 26 September 1907 (same day as New Zealand) and was celebrated until it entered into confederation with Canada in 1949.

New Zealand

Dominion Day was occasionally celebrated in New Zealand to commemorate the anniversary of the granting of dominion status (26 September 1907). It was never a public holiday, although the first Dominion Day was a day off for public servants.^[2] Dominion Day soon "faded away as a public event" – there were occasional celebrations in the first few years after 1907, but they were mainly formal events that did not capture the attention of the public.^[3] There has been support in some quarters^[4] for the day to be revived as an alternative New Zealand Day, instead of renaming Waitangi Day, New Zealand's current national day.

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