July 1, 150 years ago: Confederation began with one helluva party

It began with a midnight chorus of bells ringing across the capital, a 101-gun salute by the local rifle regiment and a “monster bonfire” at the sprawling picnic grounds we know today as Major’s Hill Park.
When Confederation officially came into force 150 years ago today — as the Notre Dame Cathedral clock struck 12 on that historic Monday and fireworks lit up Ottawa’s dark summer sky — hundreds of the city’s 16,000 residents couldn’t wait for the