Canada Day celebrations to mark 159th birthday set for late June

Taipei, May 27 (CNA) Canada Day celebrations in Taiwan, an outdoor festival featuring Canadian music and food, will be held in Taipei on June 27 to mark the 40th anniversary of Canada's representative office and the country's 159th birthday, its envoy announced Wednesday.

Canada's representative to Taiwan, Marie-Louise Hannan, said the annual event will take place at Hakka Cultural Park in Taipei and feature live music and cultural performances, authentic Canadian food and beverages, and family-friendly activities.

The festival has become "a very important celebration not just for Canadians living in Taiwan, but also for people in Taipei and throughout Taiwan who travel to the capital to join the festivities," said Hannan, head of mission at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT).

She said the festival, which has drawn as many as 10,000 visitors in years past, affirms what brings Canada and Taiwan together.

"Between Canada and Taiwan, we share some really clear and enduring convictions. We believe in democracy, in the strength of diversity, in openness to the world, and also in the value of partnership."

"These things are not just abstract or rhetorical. We actually put these principles into action. They take shape in initiatives that we do together," she said.

2026 also marks the 40th anniversary of the CTOT, which serves as Canada's de facto embassy in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

"So it has special significance to us as a marker of 40 years of sustained engagement, dialogue, and cooperation between Canada and Taiwan," she said.

According to the event organizers, the free-admission Celebration Canada festival will be held from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The annual Taipei event is the largest Canada Day celebration outside of Canada. Canada Day falls on July 1.