City says Canada Day fireworks will launch from Stampede grounds following controversy

The city says this year's Canada Day fireworks will be launched from Stampede Park following a period of contention around a plan to drop the annual display.

Last week, the city said it would keep the fireworks after a plan was dropped that would have replaced the traditional display with a pyrotechnic show.

The city had cited sensitivities related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act, paired with challenges tied late-night traffic and noise and upsetting the city's animals and wildlife. But that decision was met with complaints from some Calgarians and from city council members.

On Thursday at a meeting of city council's executive committee, city manager David Duckworth said he was sorry for how the situation had played out.

"I would personally like to apologize to Calgarians, to council, to administration. What we were expecting to be a good news story on how we were going to celebrate Canada Day at Fort Calgary turned into something much different," Duckworth said.

"We heard from thousands of Calgarians that an aerial fireworks display is incredibly important to them."

Though it will serve as the launch site, residents will not be allowed in the Calgary Stampede grounds, as organizers will be preparing for the annual Stampede. Exact details of timing will be announced once plans are finalized, the city said.

The city also noted it will provide various other programming options on Canada Day, including the pyrotechnic show that will be launched from the main stage at Fort Calgary.

Michelle Robinson, host of the Native Calgarian podcast and a Sahtu Dene Indigenous activist, previously told CBC News that it was unclear how not holding a fireworks show would have been linked to reconciliation.

"It just shows that there's not an understanding of the Indigenous community and the truth and the reconciliation part," she said. 

"I don't really care if they have fireworks or not. What I care about is that they see Canada Day as a day of celebration, when it's really a day to talk about reconciliation."