The Dutch king and queen were in Ontario Thursday, awarding scholarships to Canadian students to commemorate Canada’s role in liberating the Netherlands in the Second World War.
Seventy years ago this May, Canadian troops ended the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, an event that is commemorated every May 5 by the Dutch.
As part of this year’s celebrations, the king and queen visited the University of Waterloo to launch the Liberation Scholarship Program. The program will award a total of 70 scholarships to Canadians students on behalf of the Dutch royals.
Terran Shaver, a student from Athabasca College in Alberta, was among the first recipients of the scholarship.
Her grandfather fought in the Netherlands during the war.
“He’s very honoured,” Shaver told CTV News Channel. “He’s very honoured to represent today with the royal family.”
Shaver will celebrate her 24th birthday while studying abroad in the Netherlands this December – the same age her grandfather was when he was in the country.
“I’m really excited about that. My grandfather pointed out a few times today that he was 24 when he was fighting there,” Shaver said. “The symbolism of that is really important to me.”
The visit also included a “memorandum of understanding” between the University of Waterloo and the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. According to a press release, the agreement will allow exchange opportunities for students, staff and researchers between the two schools, as well as collaboration on research projects.
