Across the country, Canadians welcomed in the New Year on Saturday night with celebrations, fireworks and – in many places – rain.

The rain in particular put a damper on the official New Year’s celebrations in Ottawa, as the presentation of the multimedia projection “Winter Lights Across Canada” on Parliament Hill had to be cancelled. However, the planned fireworks display at Lansdowne Park managed to light up the sky despite the weather conditions.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the first province in the country to make the jump in 2024 when an evening fireworks show took place in Saint John and was filmed for telecast.

Halifax welcomed the new year with a performance from 2021 Juno Rock Album of the Year winner JJ Wilde and Amazon October discovery Devon Cole.

On the Toronto side, celebrations have moved from Nathan Phillips Square in front of City Hall to Harbourfront on the shores of Lake Ontario. This is where the fireworks took place.

Further west, in Edmonton, the celebrations began with performances by Melafrique, Anishinaabe singers and Métis fiddler Colton Bear of the Bear Country Band. At midnight, fireworks exploded in the sky.

When Vancouver canceled its New Year’s Eve fireworks display, bars and restaurants took over, and additional police officers were deployed in entertainment districts such as Granville Street, Yaletown, and Gastown.

Celebrations, which normally take place in the Old Port, had also been canceled in Montreal, where some smaller celebrations were still taking place at Place Émilie-Gamelin and Place des Festivals downtown.