You found our list of the best virtual Canada Day ideas.
Canada Day is on July 1 and honors the country’s formation. The day marks an occasion for national pride and celebration. Virtual Canada Day ideas are ways to celebrate the holiday online via remote meeting software and social media. The purpose of these tips is to give folks the ability to honor the occasion when gathering in person is not an option.
These events are examples of virtual celebrations and can be an opportunity for remote team building. The festivities share many similarities with virtual Fourth of July celebrations.
This article includes:
- virtual Canada Day activities
- online Canada Day games
- remote Canada Day celebration ideas
Here we go!
List of virtual Canada Day ideas
From trivia to playlists to O Canada karaoke, here is a list of fun ways to celebrate Canada Day online with friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers.
1. Remote Canada Day Bingo
Remote Bingo is one of the most interactive online Canada Day games. To play the game on Zoom, first send participants Bingo cards.
We made a template to use for your game:
Next, split the group into breakout rooms and encourage attendees to chat. The point of the game is to mark off the squares with names of other guests who fit the descriptions. Players cannot repeat names within the same row, column, or diagonal. The first player or team to mark off five boxes in a row and return to the main room to shout Bingo wins.
Another way to play is by doing Blackout Bingo, where players must fill the entire board, or X or diamond Bingo, where players must mark boxes in a specific shape instead of a straight line.
Sending a prize like a digital gift card to winners is a nice touch.
For more tips, check out this guide to online team building Bingo.
2. Capital Quiz
Capital Quiz is a geographical game that pays homage to the provinces. To complete this activity, give players or teams a list of provinces, and give the groups 2 to 3 minutes to name as many capitals as possible.
Here is a template and answer key we made for the game:
To make the game more challenging, you could add a trivia twist and name off famous landmarks within these cities instead of simply naming the province.
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3. Virtual Canada Day Word Search
Word searches make easy online Canada Day games. Here is a template we made for the occasion:
To do this exercise during a video call, simply display the puzzle using screen share, and be sure that the annotation features are on so that players can circle words. You can instruct players or teams to use different colors so that you can more easily count up the number of words found at the end of the activity and name a winner accordingly.
4. Canada Day Word Jumble
Word Jumbles are a fun and simple game to play during Zoom calls. To complete the activity, display the puzzle onscreen and award points to the first player or team to successfully decode each word and type the answer in the chat box. Or, you can send players into breakout rooms with a fillable form. If you have software capable of converting image files into fillable forms, then you could even alter the template we made for you below:
Check out more vocabulary games.
5. Online Canada Day Trivia
Trivia is a way for party guests to show off national knowledge. To play trivia during your call, either split the group into teams and send the teams to breakout rooms with a fillable form or use Kahoot to create a multiple choice quiz that participants can answer via mobile phone.
Here are some starter questions we made for your game:
1. To date, this basketball player is the only Canadian to win the NBA MVP award.
A. Steve Nash
2. “War is what happens when language fails,” is a quote attributed to which Canadian author?
A. Margaret Atwood
3. Nanaimo, B.C. celebrates Canada Day by racing which kind of furniture?
A. Bathtubs
4. “O Canada” became the country’s national anthem in which year?
A. 1980
5. Canada Day falls on July 1, a date shared with the tradition of Moving Day in Quebec. Moving Day is particularly crazy in this Quebec city, where almost 50% of residents rent.
A. Montreal
For more tips, check out this guide to virtual team trivia.
6. Virtual Canada Day Scavenger Hunt
Lightning scavenger hunts are one of the most exciting virtual Canada Day games. These high-energy exercises involve a leader reading out prompts one by one, and players rushing around their homes or apartments to try to retrieve the requested items. The first participant to show the object onscreen wins one point.
Here is a prompt list for your game:
Check out more online scavenger hunt ideas.
7. Canadian Pride Playlist
Canada has produced many chart-topping modern musicians, and Canada Day is one of the best times to highlight this fact. You can make a playlist of Canadian artists to stream in the background of your online party.
Here are a few suggests of artists to include:
- The Weeknd
- Justin Bieber
- Drake
- Shawn Mendes
- Celine Dion
- Bryan Adams
- Michael Buble
- Alanis Morissette
- Feist
- Avril Lavigne
The contents of the playlist may depend on your guests’ musical preferences, however there is no shortage of great options to pick from. The best part of this playlist theme is that since most of these artists are mainstream, the music sounds like any other party mix.
For more music suggestions, check out this list of teamwork songs.
8. Digital Photo Album
Digital photo albums are a way to show off the things that make Canada great and unique. The first step of this activity is to create a shared photo album via Google Drive, Facebook, the cloud, or an online photo platform like Imgur. Then, invite participants to upload pictures that show off Canada’s beauty or speak to elements about the country they love. Examples might include landscapes, sporting or cultural events, food, or unique attractions. The pictures can show pride on a local, provincial/territorial, or national level.
These photo albums serve as a bonding activity that help group members simultaneously get to know more about each other and the country.
9. Virtual Fireworks for Canada Day
Fireworks are one of the most common ways to celebrate Canada Day. However, setting off sparklers or fiery fountains in the living room is probably not the best idea.
The easiest way to enjoy fireworks online is to either livestream a broadcasted display, or watch prerecorded YouTube videos. You could also change your Zoom background to a picture or video of fireworks by using this tutorial. Lastly, you can add fireworks effects to pictures or videos by following this handy guide.
10. Red and White Dress Code
One of the easiest ways to celebrate Canada Day on Zoom is by dressing up in red and white, the colors of the country’s flag. Most folks own clothing in these colors. Extra festive participants can rise to the occasion by creating elaborate costumes. At the end of your meeting or event, give an award to the best dressed attendee. To make this contest more participatory, you can use the virtual meeting software’s polling feature to allow attendees to vote on finalists.
For more outfit fun, check out this guide to holiday costume contests.
11. Name the Flag
Name the Flag is one of the easiest virtual Canada Day activities. Simply create a slideshow with images of the flags of Canada’s provinces. Then, share your screen, show the graphics one by one, and award points to the first player or team who types the correct answer into the chat.
For a more challenging twist on the game, you can change the colors on the flags or Zoom in on a particular detail to make them harder to identify. Or, you could also remove one design element from the flag and challenge players to identify the missing piece.
Check out more ideas for video call games.
12. Virtual Museum or Park Tour
Canada has several stellar museums, parks, and landmarks, many of which are tourable online. To pay holiday homage to the homeland, take a virtual tour during your event. To view these sights online, ask one participant to pull up the remote tour while screen sharing, then navigate through the digital pages and appreciate the views together.
Here are some suggestions:
- The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
- Canadian Museum of History
- Canadian Museum of Nature
- The Royal Ontario Museum
- Art Gallery of Ontario
- Virtual National Gallery of Canada
- Banff National Park
- Jasper National Park Of Canada
- Yoho National Park Of Canada
For more inspiration, check out this list of virtual tours.
13. Zoom BBQ
Zoom barbeques are one of the most fun remote Canada Day celebration ideas. To host this gathering, send your guests a Zoom meeting link and encourage attendees to join the call outdoors. You and your group can cook and eat together, as well as playing virtual drinking games or outdoor games like I Spy.
For the ultimate experience, send attendees boxes with seasonings, sauces, spatulas, and meat or veggies the week of the event.
Pro tip: If you are worried about the internet outside, then you can get and set up an outdoor WiFi extender to boost the signal.
For more ways to have fun with food virtually, check out this list of online group cooking classes.
14. Online Parade
Parades are one of the most common ways to celebrate Canada Day. If you and your group cannot gather to watch a parade in person, then you can livestream a broadcasted parade together online. One person can show the video feed while sharing the screen.
Or, you can create your own virtual parade by encouraging each attendee to design a scene or prepare an act. Next, develop an order for your parade, giving each participant a minute or two center stage. Finally, meet up on a video call, and have the host spotlight each participant in the decided order.
15. Online Canada Day Movie Night
Streaming Canadian entertainment is a great way to celebrate the holiday online. You can use apps such as Teleparty or Watch2Gether to sync video between all screens. The group can also hop on a Zoom call or on Slack to provide running commentary of the movie or TV show while watching.
Here are some suggestions of films and series to stream:
- My Bloody Valentine
- Goon
- Ginger Snap
- My Winnipeg
- Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
- The Sweet Hereafter
- Schitt’s Creek
- Orphan Blacks
- Degrassi
- The Kids in the Hall
- Kim’s Convenience
- Letterkenny
For more film fun, check out this list of team building movies.
16. Care Packages
Care packages are one of the best virtual Canada Day ideas. These packages of presents can be a way to add a more hands-on element to your online event. Freebies make any event more memorable, however the goodies can also make virtual events feel more “real.”
Suggestions for what to include:
- Snacks and gourmet foods
- Maple syrup or maple candy
- Mini flags
- Coffee
- Beauty products like chapstick and lotion
- Self-care items like candles
- Handwritten notes or cards
Pro tip: Curate items from Canadian brands and small businesses to shed light on the awesome products the country produces.
For more ideas, check out this employee gift-giving guide.
17. Virtual Canada Day Backgrounds
Virtual backgrounds are one of the easiest ways to celebrate Canada Day online. Simply change the virtual background of a video call to a Canada-centric image, such as the flag, a Canada Day celebration, famous national landmarks, or noteworthy modern or historical figures. You can turn up many premade backgrounds by doing a Google search, and we also made a couple of examples that you are free to use.
You can also make your own background by using Canva or Crello.
18. O Canada Karaoke
No Canada Day celebration would be complete without singing “O Canada.” You can turn the song into a virtual karaoke session by loading up a lyric video on screen share, and encouraging attendees to unmute their mics and belt out the words.
Pro tip: Consider singing all four verses of the anthem, or both the English and French versions of the song. Or, for extra fun, create a compilation music video featuring multiple participants singing the song.
19. Online Concert
Concerts are a common way of celebrating Canada Day. You can host your own virtual concert via Zoom by either recruiting a couple of musicians to play during your call, or asking attendees to prepare songs or acts.
For similar activities, check out this list of virtual talent show ideas.
20. Crafting Hour
Craft classes are a hands-on way of celebrating this occasion. To hold an online craft session, first pick a project, then either send attendees materials or a list of supplies. Next, meet up on a Zoom call and follow a live or video craft tutorial. Examples include origami maple leaves, beaver paper bag puppets, and mosaic province flags.
You can find inspiration for craft ideas by checking Pinterest, or taking an online art class together.
Bonus: At the end of the activity, attendees will have Canada Day decorations to display.
21. Digital Camping
Canada Day is a holiday in July, and camping is a fitting activity for summer occasions. Instead of setting up a tent together in person, you and your group can take part in digital camping. To camp virtually, attendees meet up on a video call to toast s’mores over tealight candles, tell ghost stories, and play outdoor-themed games. Digital camping is an ideal way to cap off an evening time online Canada Day party.
Check out more virtual campfire ideas.
22. Virtual Escape Room
Virtual escape rooms are a fun way to bring people together online. You can do software based digital escape rooms, are live experiences with a host. These events include puzzles and problem solving challenges that encourage people to work together.
Here is a list of virtual escape rooms in Canada.
Final Thoughts
Canada Day is an occasion for national pride, which means rallying together. When celebrants cannot gather in person, virtual celebration ideas offer an alternative means of honoring the occasion. On the plus side, online Canada Day celebrations tend to be low-cost and low-stress, and guests can attend simply by clicking on a link.
For more online observances, check out this guide to virtual Remembrance Day ideas and these St. George’s Day activities for students.
Angela Robinson