The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) saw the perfect opportunity to invite foreign visitors and their own 35 million citizens to come experience the music and cuisine in Vancouver, or the Canada Day parade in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

What the tourism officials wanted was a highly visible and symbolic communication that would close the distance from coast to coast, so they decided to place illuminated public art sculptures – all alike – in Canadian cities and at key attractions. Prince Island Park in Calgary became the first host of the massive, three-dimensional signs that spell out "CANADA 150" with a maple leaf medallion worked in.

Artist Ariana Cuvin of Toronto designed the medallion in a competition offered to Canadian students. The logo is composed of a series of diamonds, or "celebratory gems," arranged in the symbolic maple leaf design. The four diamonds at the base represent the four original eastern provinces that formed Canada's 1867 Confederation: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Additional diamonds extend out from there to create nine more points, in total representing the 13 provinces and territories.

"The maple leaf motif is recognized at home and abroad as distinctively Canadian, and it fosters feelings of pride, unity and celebration," the Canada 150 organizers say. "This unique design is simple enough to be drawn by children, and versatile enough to be used in a host of applications." When it is writ large in the public art sculptures, the logo is set into the final digit of the 3-D display.

The sculptures are built using an aluminium frame, aluminium cladding and a translucent polycarbonate front and back. The base is made from steel and weather-resistant plywood, and then clad in aluminium panels. With dimensions of 1.82 meters by 10.97 meters, these artistic signs are big – they weigh more than 4,500 kilograms – and serve as a focal point of community and national parade.

"These public art sculptures will enhance the Canada 150 experience by creating a series of gathering places in major urban centers and iconic tourism destinations across the country, to anchor Canada 150 activities and festivities by generating social media engagement and storytelling," the TIAC group said.

Each sign is illuminated in LED lights that run close to 400 meters if you stretch them out from end to end. The energy-efficient lighting makes sure that Canadian pride in the 150^th lights up a skyline or two.

Among the locations for sculpture installations is the iconic Niagara Falls, considered a natural fit for the sesquicentennial exhibit because it serves as a gateway to Canada from the United States. The Table Rock Welcome Center, right next to the famous Horseshoe Falls, will show off the CANADA 150 sign.

There are 19 of the signs, funded by the government's Department of Canadian Heritage, and they highlight key destinations but also celebrate lesser-known locations in cities like Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Canada 150 installation there goes to the pavilion at Assiniboine Park near the city's riverfront.

Major events for the Canada 150 celebrations include Canada Day on July 1 in the Ottawa capital as well as Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27. Some exhibits, including a horticulture display in Gatineau, Québec, will continue through the summer and into fall.