Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the context of his official visit to Canada, attended the traditional parade of associations of the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal for the national holiday of March 25th, together with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau.
After the completion of the parade, which was attended by people of all ages from expatriate associations coming from dozens of regions of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the following statement:
“It is truly a great honour and a great pleasure to represent Greece today, here in Montreal, in this truly impressive parade on the occasion of the Greek Independence Day of March 25th.
Here in Canada the heart of Hellenism is indeed beating very strongly and the message of March 25th resonates vividly and relevantly throughout the world and here in Canada. Our struggle for national independence in difficult times is always historically relevant.
And of course this year our presence in the Greek diaspora has a special value, because for the first time we are putting into practice the vision of decades of Greek expatriates to be able to vote by postal vote from their permanent place of residence.
So again, a big ‘thank you’ to the Canadian Prime Minister, a big ‘thank you’ to those who organized this truly amazing parade, which proves that Hellenism here in Canada is robust and vibrant.
Thank you, Justin, for giving me the opportunity to participate in this incredible parade on this very important day. I could not imagine a better place to be spending Greek Independence Day than with you and with our Greek-Canadian compatriots here in Montreal”.
“Greek-Canadians are an incredibly dynamic community, they’ve given incredibly to Canada, but they are also very very proud of their Greek roots and it’s a wonderful thing to come together today”, added Justin Trudeau.
Earlier, the Prime Minister and his Canadian counterpart attended together the service for the national holiday of March 25 at the Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.
The two leaders also had the opportunity to visit historic shops of expatriates and talk to their owners.
