Canada Day 2026 Reading List
As Seen on CTV Your Morning
All of my CTV Your Morning lists feature Canadian creators, but this list includes titles that also celebrate the specific Canadian experience, including cultural touchstones, people and places. This list was originally featured on Monday, June 29th.
Kids’ Titles
For the youngest Canadians, Hello! My Name is Maple Syrup is a sweet board book that celebrates one of Canada’s gastronomic symbols- in rhyme! Some people may recognize the text from Canada: We Are the Story, which is adapted from a well-loved poem by Richard Wagamese. The vibrant artwork of Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley adds another layer of narrative, in which an Indigenous child considers a school assignment, “What makes you proud to be Canadian?” What follows is a meditation on the past, present and future of Canadian identity. Featuring gorgeous, delicate art from Haida artist Shoshanna Greene, The Game is a creative reimagining of the origins of hockey through a Musqueam lens. For tweens, Touching Grass is a middle grade novel about a gamer who has to spend a week at an outdoor wilderness camp. The camp novel is a common sub-genre, but often ignores or appropriates Indigenous culture. In this novel, the camp is a Dene culture camp, which firmly centres Indigenous traditions and enriches the ‘indoor kid learning to love nature’ story into a richer text about identity and connection.
Adult Titles
Will Ferguson’s collection Meanwhile, Back in Nokomis includes stories about his travels across Canada (and abroad) and what it means to be Canadian right now. In addition to your own TBR pile, this book would makes a nice host/hostess gift if you’ve been invited to a cottage this summer. A cottage bookshelf can always use a light-hearted essay collection that is easy to dip in and out of between beloved cottage activities. David Suzuki is a national treasure. Lessons from a Lifetime demonstrates his massive impact through a mix of his own recollections and stories from colleagues, family members, and many others he has inspired. 6:40 to Montreal is a classic locked room mystery with a Canadian twist. When a train en route to Montreal is forced to stop during a snow storm, a passenger is found murdered in business class. A best-selling (and unraveling) thriller author tries to solve the mystery while locked in with the suspects (and the killer). The Fall-Down Effect is a layered family saga spanning roughly 25 years. Set in the interior of British Columbia, it explores complex family dynamics against a backdrop of environmental activism.