Burlington marks 150+ Anniversary in a special way at Canada Day Celebrations

Canada Day is an opportunity to reflect on what makes our country so special – the freedoms we enjoy that were fought for by our veterans; the people from many different lands and cultures, who add to the rich and diverse cultural tapestry of our community; and Indigenous Peoples, who have been stewards of the land and traditional knowledge before Canada became a nation.This year, our celebrations at Spencer Smith Park were extra special as we also marked Burlington's 150+ anniversary. Burlington’s journey to becoming incorporated as a city began 150 years ago and the ‘+’ acknowledges the Indigenous Peoples who were on the land long before that.I want to thank Elder and Healer WhiteEagle for setting intentions at the start of our opening ceremonies on Saturday (July 1).We recognize the land we now know as Burlington has an Indigenous history that goes beyond 150 years -- and we honour and recognize the diverse Indigenous Peoples who have lived in this area and acknowledge Burlington is on Treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.To reflect this understanding, you may have seen a special “Burlington 150+” identifier around the city. It uses four shapes and colours with:

• • green representing nature and the land;
  • yellow symbolizing unity and our multi-cultural community;
  • light blue symbolizing freedom while living in peace and harmony; and
  • orange representing our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.

TIME CAPSULEIn honour of our Burlington 150+ anniversary, I was also excited to announce on Canada Day that we will be putting together a time-capsule that will include 7 artefacts – one representing something significant from each our six Wards and one item that reflects our city, as a whole.Stayed tuned for more details from my office on how you will be able to participate in this exciting initiative.BURLINGTON'S JOURNEY TO A MUNICIPALITYBurlington’s journey to becoming a municipality started in 1873 when the villages of Wellington Square and Port Nelson merged to become the Village of Burlington. It was then designated a town in 1914, and a city in 1974.Our City Crest carries a lot of that story with the symbols included in it:

• • The peaks of the dividing line represent our major headlands: Rattlesnake Point, Mount Nemo and Flamborough Head;
  • The lighthouse and ship are representative of Burlington’s years serving as a lakeport;
  • The cow and apple represent our local farming industry and the importance of agricultural growth — something we continue to take great pride in protecting today; and
  • The beehive symbolizes the role industry has played and continues to play in our city’s development.

The motto ‘Stand By’ on our crest is also significant — I’ve learned from our local veterans that it’s an old nautical term that means stand with and together to help one another, and to also stand ready for action.Our city and our residents have demonstrated all those aspects all these past decades and continue to do so today — being committed to serving each other and our community.The City of Burlington has been built by generations.The British purchased the land that we now know as Burlington from the original stewards of the land, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation through several treaties starting in 1792. Treaty 8 included the purchase of the Brant Tract -- 14 square kilometres on Burlington Bay that the British granted to Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant Thayendanegea for his service in the American Revolutionary War.When the Village of Burlington formed in 1873, its population was little more than 750. In 1914, with its newly-elected first mayor Maxwell Charles Smith – the village had grown to 2,100 people. Today, it’s estimated more than 198,000 people now live in Burlington.A HISTORY OF LEADERS & RESIDENTSWe recognize that the incredible city we live in is the result of many generations of leaders and residents who came before us.As part of our Burlington 150+ Canada Day celebrations on Saturday, I had the honour to be joined on stage by two of our former mayors, to thank them for their service to our city and the legacy they left for us.They had the opportunity to share what they are proudest of:

• Mayor Rob MacIssac (1998-2006) -- he is most proud of the redevelopment of Burlington's downtown and waterfront, including the vision for the rink and pool at Spencer Smith Park, and the pier.
• Mayor Rick Goldring (2010-2018) -- he is proud to have led the completion of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre and the Brant Street Pier, as both projects have become very meaningful to not only the downtown, but the whole city.

We also have two additional mayors who still live in Burlington, but were unable to join us in person on the day. We did have the opportunity to thank them and share their thoughts with the crowd on their proudest achievements:

• Mayor Mary Munro (1977-1978) -- she was instrumental with the 'Save the Lakeshore' movement that prevent a highway from being built through our Lakeshore Road, preserving the trees and unique residential character of the area. She was also Burlington's first female mayor.
• Mayor Cam Jackson (2006-2010) -- he is most proud of the Joseph Brant Hospital expansion (that the City contributed $60 million to help make happen), the McMaster Degroote School of Business - Burlington campus, and the joint McMaster-Brant Family Medicine Teaching Program.

 At our opening ceremonies, I also thanked my current Council colleagues  for all of their dedicated service to our residents: Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns, Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan, Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman (who were all able to join me for the festivities on July 1), Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte, and Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna.We have a great team of Council members who are dedicated and passionate about building on the legacy of those who came before us to ensure a continued great city for the next seven generations.On behalf of all my Council colleagues, we also acknowledge the work of all previous Burlington councils that came before us over the past 150 years – including the 28 mayors before me.SPECIAL GROUPSI also acknowledged the 10 advisory committees and the numerous volunteers who sit on these boards, advising Council and providing a direct connection to the pulse of various local groups throughout our city.Another very special group in Burlington is our local veterans.It’s important we acknowledge and remember the sacrifices of our veterans, particularly on Canada Day, and reflect on where we would be without them when we enjoy the freedoms they earned for us. Thank you to our local veterans for everything they do for our community, including WWII Veteran Gordon Schottlander.KEY TO THE CITY RECIPIENTSGordon is also among a very special list of people in Burlington – as one of our Key to the City recipients.We launched our Key to the City program in 2019 with our first recipient, posthumously, being Mike “Beard Guy” Taylor of Walk off the Earth.Since its launch, we’ve given out a total of 11 Keys to:

• Mike 'Beard Guy' Taylor (Posthumously - January 2019);
• City of Itabashi, Japan - Burlington's twin city (October 2019);
• Gordon Schottlander (January 2020);
• Ian Elliot (December 2020);
• Kendall Cooper (December 2020);
• Lisa Lunski (October 2021);
• Jean Longfield (October 2021);
• Emma Maltais (March 2022);
• Renata Fast (March 2022);
• Burlington Teen Tour Band (July 2022);
• City of Apeldoorn, The Netherlands - Burlington's twin city (May 2023).

Each of these recipients have made significant contributions to Burlington and our community in their own unique way and I’m very glad we have this opportunity to honour them.You can find citations that give more background on each of our Key recipients at burlington.ca/keytothecityJULY 2023 KEY TO THE CITY RECIPIENT: BEVERLY KINGDONI was also very excited to announce on Canada Day our latest Key recipient for July 2023 -- Beverly Kingdon!Beverly has been a volunteer in conservation work for more than 40 years, and a driving force behind the creation of the Trumpeter Swan Restoration Group.Trumpeter swans were nearly hunted out of existence in Ontario by the late 1800s and re-introduced into the province in the 1980s. Beverly has said she initially became involved in this volunteer work because of her love of swans and it gave her an opportunity to give something back to the Burlington community. Thankfully, we’ve seen the return of the Trumpeter swan population to LaSalle Park, and the bird population thrive.Of note, in 2022, Bird Friendly Hamilton Burlington announced the Trumpeter swan was selected by popular demand as Burlington’s unofficial city bird.Beverly’s efforts have ensured Burlington’s unofficial bird has a haven in our city for generations to come – making her a very worthy recipient of the Key to the City!SPECIAL MUSICAL GUESTS

We also had some special musical guests perform on stage at Canada Day, including: Rob Preuss of The Spoons and Friends; Silverstein; and Finger Eleven. Thank you to Rob Preuss and The Spoons for the sing-along.We certainly had a very special Canada Day and Burlington 150+ celebration on Saturday -- and we have a lot to be grateful for, including the generations of families and individuals who have all added, in their own way, to the history of our city.