Thunderstorms in Ottawa keep Carney from delivering Canada Day speech in Edmonton

As the separation debate swirls, the Alberta legislature is hosting the largest Canada Day celebration outside Ottawa. CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson has m

Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Canadians to remain united in a Canada Day speech in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, but his plan to deliver similar remarks in Edmonton later in the day was upended by thunderstorms that prevented his plane from taking off on time.

Canadians gathered across the country to mark 159 years of Confederation, as the country grapples with a changing world and emerging separatist movements.

In Ottawa, Carney said the country was formed on partnership and accommodation, rather than assimilation and domination.

He spoke to thousands gathered a short drive from Parliament Hill, just moments before a prolonged storm cancelled official events including the evening fireworks.

Carney said Canadians have stood strong and unflinching in the face of global challenges, “working together, resolutely, to build our future. Because in a crisis, fortune favours the bold.”

“The founding idea of Canada is simple: unity does not require uniformity,” he said in French.

In Quebec, a separation movement has been re-emerging ahead of the province’s October election.

Carney was scheduled to deliver a speech at Canada Day celebration in Edmonton Wednesday evening. It was to have been a rare Alberta appearance for a prime minister on Canada Day, and comes as Albertans are set to vote this fall on whether to remain in Canada, or hold a binding referendum on separation.

His spokeswoman said weather conditions in Ottawa prevented his plane from taking off, and he would not make it to Edmonton on time to deliver his speech there and his appearance was cancelled.

Thunderstorms rolled through Ottawa for most of Wednesday afternoon, bringing strong winds, extremely heavy rain, lightning and threats of hail. More than a dozen flights out of the Ottawa airport were cancelled due to the weather.

The prime minister began the day’s celebrations on Wednesday serving pancakes in his own riding in the Ottawa suburbs.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took part in Canada Day events in Alberta, and posted on social media that he was among those “proudly celebrating our country’s 159th birthday with the western spirit of hard work, freedom, family, and community.”

Carney’s speech in Ottawa also paid homage to Jeremy Hansen, the only Canadian to make the historic trip around the dark side of the moon earlier this year aboard NASA’s Artemis 2 mission.

Hansen took the stage after Carney, greeting a crowd of several thousand people at the day’s main festivities, held in a field at LeBreton Flats Park due to construction on Parliament Hill.

He spoke about the teamwork of the Artemis crew during the lunar mission, and said he was proud to wear a Canadian mission patch during the journey.

“When I look out at all of you, I see the same: A country powerful, together as one — like a crew — through shared sacrifice, mutual reliance and a commitment to a collective vision much larger than any single one of us,” he said.

Carney and other dignitaries wore portable fans around their necks during the noon ceremony as the mercury soared.

Shortly after things wrapped up on the main stage and the weather worsened, some attendees ran for cover to the nearby War Museum. Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning, and cautioned that the weather could bring hail and flash flooding.

Wednesday was Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour’s first Canada Day as the King’s representative, and she said in a video message that she was always very proud to identify herself as Canadian as her career took her around the world.

Arbour said Canada is a country that “shines in many spheres” but is realistic about the challenges ahead.

“We are a country always striving to do better,” she said, giving the example of ongoing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

“Let’s celebrate together what unites us, not in spite of our differences, but through them,” she said.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau was among the dignitaries seated at the front of the stage of the midday celebrations. He did not address the crowd but stopped to pose for photos as dozens clustered near the exit after the festivities ended.

Last year’s celebrations touched heavily on U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated talk of annexing Canada. Miller said that was one of the moments that brought Canadians together over the past year, along with more joyful times such as Canada’s winning goal in last Sunday’s World Cup match.

“We’re a beautiful project in the making,” he said, adding that the U.S. is “sabre-rattling and behaving in a way that we don’t recognize what was our best friend.”

American Ambassador Pete Hoekstra made no reference to that rhetoric in a written message Wednesday morning. He instead hailed the close U.S. relationship with Canada, saying the ongoing co-hosting of the FIFA World Cup “is just the latest example of our collaboration fostering international success.”

Miller said the holiday was a chance to reflect on the freedoms people often take for granted, and the contributions of “two founding peoples and the Indigenous peoples that were here before us.”

It’s also a time to have fun, he said.

“Canada Day is a chance to go out and eat some hotdogs, drink beer, listen to some tunes and just relax,” Miller said.

Dylan Robertson and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press