Each year, the Canadian government highlights several “anniversaries of significance” as part of its Commemorate Canada program, which marks 25th, 50th, 75th and 100th anniversaries (or subsequent milestones in increments of 25 years).
The program provides funding to initiatives “specifically designed to commemorate and celebrate historical figures, places, events and accomplishments of national significance,” according to the federal government’s website, canada.ca.
The list of anniversaries also often feeds the Royal Canadian Mint’s commemorative circulation program plus Canada Post’s stamp program.
The upcoming anniversaries include:
- the 150th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, formed on May 23, 1873, as a successor to the North-West Mounted Police;
- the 125th anniversary of the Yukon Territory, which joined Canada on June 13, 1898;
- the 150th anniversary of Prince Edward Island, which joined Canada on July 1, 1873;
- the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act, ratified on July 1, 1923, and repealed 24 years later;
- the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, signed on July 27, 1953;
- the 150th anniversary of Treaty 3, signed by the feds and the Ojibwe Nation’s Saulteaux Tribe on Oct. 3, 1873;
- the 100th anniversary of the birth of artist Jean-Paul Riopelle, born in Montréal on Oct. 7, 1923;
- the 100th anniversary of the Williams Treaties, signed by the federal government and seven First Nations in October and November 1923; and
- the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Canada and 47 other UN members ratified on Dec. 10, 1948.