House Commons and Dominion Day Canada Day

Dominion Day: The holiday as we know it was born on a hot afternoon in a sleepy House of Commons in 1982, when a small group of members of Parliament pushed through legislation to change the name of our national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day, according to Toronto Star. This revision has proved so contentious over the years that many — from history buffs to even a young Stephen Harper — have rallied to bring the term Dominion Day back into the national lexicon. But it wasn’t always like this. The making of Canada Day It was a muggy afternoon on July 9, 1982, and the floor of the House of Commons was eerily empty. An hour before quitting time, Hal Herbert, Liberal MP for Vaudreuil introduced a private member bill to amend the Holidays Act to change the name of Canada national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day. As one might expect late on a Friday in the middle of an Ottawa summer, few members of Parliament had bothered to stick around — only 13 MPs, to be precise. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.