A small U.S. city that’s actually north of Toronto is getting ready to host an annual festival that celebrates Canada.
Little Canada, Minn., a city about 540 kilometres south of Thunder Bay, Ont., is hosting its annual “Canadian Days” festival this weekend, a homecoming celebration of the community and all things Canadian.
“I would call it the greatest community festival in the state of Minnesota,” Rick Montour, a city councillor in Little Canada, told CTV’s Your Morning on Friday. “We’re very proud of it.”
The suburb of St. Paul, Minn., home to nearly 10,000 residents, has a deep connection to Canada. In 1844, a French Winnipegger named Benjamin Gervais claimed land in the area to build a grist mill and 14 years later the township of “New Canada” was formed. Its name changed to “Little Canada” in 1953.
The city flag features a white fleur-de-lis over a red maple leaf and the city council chambers display a Canadian flag.
“We’re actually very proud of our Canadian heritage and many French-Canadian names still exist in our city,” Montour said.
The volunteer-organized Canadian Days festival has been held annually since 1976. This year, events include a volleyball tournament, bingo, fireworks and a parade, to name a few.
While Montour says poutine is not popular in Little Canada, and will likely not find its way on to the menu at the festival, he did say those in attendance will be able to have a taste of Canada.
“We have our own Tim Hortons,” he said.
Little Canada is a sister city with Thunder Bay and each year a group of Canadian bagpipers make the trip from the Canadian city for the annual parade.
“This weekend, we’ll probably have a group of 40 to 50 residents and folks from Thunder Bay that’ll come down and partake in our festivities,” Montour said.
Amid increased trade tensions between Canada and the U.S., Montour said the festival is a chance for residents to have fun and put the presently fraught relationship between the two countries on the back burner for a weekend.
“For the most part, the Canadian Days Festival is probably a homecoming get-together, we try to keep politics out of it,” he said. “Little Canada just kind of keeps to itself.”
