Canadian Visitor Says July 4 Events Changed View of Ancestors' Loyalty

Canadian David Bonin, 58, said the July 4, 2026, celebrations in New York City led him to conclude that his ancestors who fought for Britain during the American Revolution were on the wrong side. Bonin drove from Montreal to Sleepy Hollow, New York, on July 3 before taking a train into the city to attend Sail4th 250. He watched the Parade of Sail from the schooner Adirondack.

com he had never attended a July 4 event in the United States before this year. He said he wanted to observe how the country marked the 250th anniversary of its independence. He stated that the scale and organization of the celebrations impressed him.

Bonin added that the experience made him rethink his views on Canada. "I think we should have followed the US and ousted the British," he said, after noting his family line traces to Loyalists who lived near Niagara Falls during the Revolution.