British ColumbiaCanada Day in White Rock, B.C., may not end with a bang after next year, as city council ponders whether to cancel its July 1 fireworks display.City will ask residents if they want fireworks at major events — or notLauren Vanderdeen · CBC News · Posted: Nov 21, 2025 10:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 21Listen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.White Rock city council is considering scaling back its Canada Day by the Bay fireworks display. (City of White Rock/Instagram)Canada Day in White Rock, B.C., may not end with a bang after next year, as city council ponders whether to cancel its July 1 fireworks display.Mayor Megan Knight raised safety concerns around the city’s Canada Day by the Bay event, which staff say has become so popular that some residents complained about traffic congestion, disruptive guests and “significant amounts of litter.”“Canada Day was completely out of control this year,” Knight said at a council meeting Monday.She added she found it “really disturbing” how busy the event was. “This year, people actually just parked their cars in the middle of the road, got out and went and watched the fireworks,” Knight said.She said local RCMP have concerns about how emergency services can access the waterfront and surrounding areas when it gets so busy.Knight suggested the city could cancel the fireworks for Canada Day, but keep them for the more local Sea Festival.Fireworks cost the city about $9,000 per event, according to a city staff report.Staff considered switching to a drone show as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to fireworks, with less air and noise pollution, but ultimately didn’t recommend drones, in part because of the cost — about $35,000 per event.Staff also said drone shows have “less ‘wow’ factor.”But Coun. Susan Bains said she would prefer to keep fireworks at major events, which she said benefit the city and its businesses.“There’s many young families that enjoy this. So to take that away, I feel, kind of takes away a spark that the city does provide.”Bains said she would prefer to see more road closures and increased foot patrols to maintain order.Big events are good for business: board of tradeA community business advocate agreed.Joslyn Young, CEO of the Surrey and White Rock Board of Trade, said increasing foot traffic to the city’s commercial areas supports local business.“I understand that there are safety issues which absolutely must be addressed, but I’m hoping we can come together to find a creative solution,” Young said.Young said last year’s Canada Day event was a “lesson in what not to do,” and stressed citizens need to be responsible for their behaviour.But she said community events are needed to attract consumers.“If you chip away at all of the community events where people are looking for somewhere to go to spend, say, Canada Day then you take away that business from those business community members.”Cities around B.C. have been cancelling firework shows in the last five years — some due to fire risk, others due to costs.Earlier this year, the event producer of Vancouver’s massive fireworks competition — the Honda Celebration of Light, which garners around 1.2 million attendees — announced the event may not run in 2026 due to increasing production costs and decreasing government support.White Rock council voted to ask staff to hold a public engagement survey asking residents to share their feedback on fireworks at public events.Council is expected to review the results of the public engagement in January.ABOUT THE AUTHORLauren Vanderdeen is a web writer for CBC British Columbia. She formerly worked for community newspapers, including the Burnaby Now and New West Record. You can reach her at lauren.vanderdeen@cbc.ca.With files from Amelia John
Could White Rock’s Canada Day fireworks display fizzle out?
