What was Canada's centennial year of 1967?

Canada's centennial year of 1967 was the 100th anniversary of Confederation, celebrated throughout the year with about 2,500 federal-provincial centennial projects across the country. Major centennial activities included the Centennial Train (a touring exhibition train that visited 83 communities and was seen by about 10 million Canadians), the Centennial Hymn 'Ca-na-da' by Bobby Gimby (released March 1967), Expo 67 in Montreal (the world's fair from April 27 to October 29, 1967), the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill (lit December 31, 1966 by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, still burning today), and the Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant. The year is remembered as a high point of Canadian post-war optimism and self-confidence.

Federal centennial planning began with the 1959 Centennial Commission of Inquiry chaired by John Fisher (later 'Mr. Centennial' Centennial Commissioner from 1963 to 1968). The federal Centennial Act of 1959 and the Centennial Commission Act of 1963 established the framework. The federal government funded about 2,500 centennial projects, often on a matching basis with provincial and municipal governments. Centennial projects included community centres, libraries, museums, parks, and arenas in hundreds of communities. Many buildings still bear Centennial designations (Centennial Park, Centennial Hall, Centennial Library) marking their 1967 origin.

Expo 67 (officially the 1967 International and Universal Exposition) was the year's largest single project. Held on the islands of Île Notre-Dame and Île Sainte-Hélène in the St. Lawrence River at Montreal, Expo 67 drew about 50 million visitors over six months from 62 participating countries. The fair's theme was 'Man and His World' (Terre des Hommes). Iconic buildings included the US pavilion (R. Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome, now the Biosphere environmental museum), Habitat 67 (Moshe Safdie's modernist housing complex), the Soviet Union pavilion, and the Canadian pavilion (the Katimavik Inverted Pyramid). Expo 67 is widely regarded as the most successful world's fair of the late 20th century.

Other major centennial events included Bobby Gimby's centennial song 'Ca-na-da' (which reached number 9 on the Canadian charts and sold 270,000 copies); the Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant (a 5,283-kilometre canoe race from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta to Expo 67, May to September 1967, with 12 paddler teams); the Confederation Train and Confederation Caravan (federal touring exhibitions); the Order of Canada (established by Royal Proclamation on July 1, 1967, with the first investitures of 90 Companions, including Vincent Massey, the Right Honourable Roland Michener, and Saul Rae); the centennial cents and silver coinage; and many local celebrations, parades, and pageants. Queen Elizabeth II visited Canada from June 30 to July 5, 1967 for the centennial. The centennial year is widely seen as a moment of national pride and post-war confidence that preceded the difficult political challenges of the late 1960s and 1970s, including the October Crisis of 1970 and the rise of Quebec separatism.