If you saw the performances and fireworks on Saturday – and had to battle your way out of the harbour when it was all over – you already know how huge the crowds were.
The sound of the Arkells rocking out rang over the city for an hour, followed almost immediately by fireworks. The whole evening brought out a brilliant display of Canadian pride.
Official estimates put the crowds at over 60,000. As expected, Canada 150 saw a huge increase in attendees over previous years.
However, despite the tens of thousands of raucous Canadians, the number of arrests in 2017 actually decreased.
Whereas 2016 saw 36 people taken into custody, 2017 only resulted in 19 arrests.
“Almost half the number of arrests with at least double the number of people, I mean, it’s remarkable,” Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps told Chek News.
Victoria Buzz has yet to obtain the details of the Canada Day arrests.
Victoria’s sheer number of attendees wasn’t the only record-breaking stat. Thousands of people on the lawns of the legislature also helped the city beat out Winnipeg and Calgary for the largest living maple leaf.
Although Winnipeg’s leaf gained much more social media traction, Victoria’s had around 1700 more participants.
