Today, we celebrate Dutch Heritage Day across Canada.
This day is an opportunity for us to recognize and celebrate the many contributions that Canadians of Dutch Heritage have made to our country's social, cultural, and economic fabric. May 5 is also Liberation Day in the Netherlands, marking the end of Nazi Germany's occupation during the Second World War.
Canada is home to more than one million people of Dutch heritage, with members of the community having established homesteads in the Canadian West during the 1890s. In the 1920s, Dutch Canadians became essential to our economy as they worked on farms, in factories, and in homes. After the Second World War, many more immigrated to Canada as war brides and children of Canadian soldiers.
Let us remember and honour the sacrifices made by past members of the Canadian Armed Forces in the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War.
