Canadians new and old, at home and abroad, celebrated this Canada Day

OTTAWA – Canadians at home, abroad and even in space will be celebrated this Canada Day.

The annual Parliament Hill noon show will feature a performance by Carly Rae Jepsen, live coverage of celebrations in New York and London and an appearance by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Hadfield’s photographs of Canada taken from his perch aboard the international space station earlier this year earned him fans around the world.

He’s performing a song written for his time in space at both the noon and evening shows.

Outside of the nation’s capital, 33 citizenship ceremonies are planned across the country as are events honouring the Canadian military.

In Calgary, still cleaning up from last month’s flood, the holiday will also mark the re-opening of that city’s downtown core.

The support that Canadians have offered to flood ravaged Alberta prompted Premier Alison Redford to publicly thank them in a video.

“Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts,” Redford said in the video. “Whether it’s Red Cross volunteers from Newfoundland, social workers from Guelph (Ont.), dog trainers from Kelowna (B.C.) who provided food for search and rescue dogs, the important time and money Canadians poured into the Red Cross to help us rebuild.”

”On this Canada Day we are so grateful to be part of a Canadian community,” she added.

While celebrations there are expected to be robust, officials are warning residents away from river banks as viewing locations for the nightly fire-works show as water levels are still high.

In his message to Canada on its 146th birthday, the governor general says the country must never take for granted what it’s accomplished.

But David Johnston says Canadians can not afford to become complacent and everyone should continue to strive to make the country smarter and more caring.

“Today is Canada’s day, and in four short years we will gather to celebrate the 150th anniversary of this country,” Johnston says.

“With that milestone in mind, let us each strive to discover what we have to give to this country. The essence of democracy is the understanding that we all have something to give, and a responsibility to do so.”

Expat Canadians and those who simply profess a love for Canada also sending their best wishes.

Country star Carrie Underwood, who is married to former Ottawa Senators hockey player and Peterborough, Ont., native Mike Fisher, posted a message to her fans on Twitter Sunday.

“Happy Canada Day weekend, all you crazy Canadians!!!,” she wrote.

The Canadian consulate in New York also pulled together a video for the celebrations there featuring celebrities like Mike Myers, Paul Shaffer and Bryan Adams sending Canada Day greetings.

The video also includes New Yorker journalist and author Calvin Trillin, who jokes that since he spends two months a year in Canada, he’s hoping to be declared 1/6 Canadian content.

Among the best know celebrations abroad on Canada Day is the party at the U.S. embassy in Washington, D.C., but there are concerns festivities might not be up to their usual standards this year.

The 30 Canadian foreign service workers at the embassy, most of them in high-ranking positions, are among the 1,350 members of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers who have been in a legal strike position against the federal government since April.

The striking diplomats have refused to work any after-hours events since the work-to-rule action began, causing logistical and organizational headaches for the embassy.

They won’t be at the Canada Day pancake breakfast on Monday, leaving what’s known as “locally engaged” staff to handle the affair.