OTTAWA -- The annual Canada Day party on Parliament Hill is celebrating Canadians at home and abroad.
"Canada is not just any country, but a people determined to do right -- a fact that makes me proud as we approach the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of our country," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.
"Compassionate neighbours, courageous warriors, and confident partners, a bastion of freedom in an un-free world, a standard-bearer of goodwill, in a time when too many choose to hate, a land of hope in a sea of uncertainty."
The Parliament Hill noon show featured a performances 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, over 30 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.
As rain fell on the Halifax celebrations, Alberta was also on people's minds there.
Don Parker had travelled from Sexsmith, Alta., to celebrate Canada Day in the Nova Scotia capital.
"Whether it's raining or sunshine or flooding in Alberta, you know, Canada is where I want to live," said Parker.
"It means having the freedom to travel all over Canada and meet all these great people and see all this wonderful country, in the rain of course," he said, laughing.
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 consulates in New York and Los Angeles also pulled together videos for the celebrations there featuring celebrities like Paul Anka, Mike Myers, Paul Shaffer and Bryan Adams sending Canada Day greetings.
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.
