Note:

Canada and the Netherlands have enjoyed a special relationship resulting from actions during World War II when Canadian forces led the liberation of the Netherlands and hosted the Dutch Royal Family in exile.

Following a brief stay in England, Princess Juliana, the heir to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and her children travelled to the safety of Canada. First staying at Rideau Hall and then in a house in Rockcliffe, in 1941 the Royal Family were invited to stay at Stornoway and in 1943 Juliana’s mother Queen Wilhelmina visited on the occasion of the birth of her granddaughter Princess Magriet.

During these years of exile, the people of Ottawa were very hospitable. The Canadian government led by example and even flew the Dutch tricolour on parliament's Peace Tower while its carillon 'banged' out Dutch music at the news of Princess Margriet's birth. Gestures like these created a lasting bond which was reinforced as Canadian soldiers inched their way towards Nazi-occupied Dutch soil in 1944 and 1945 in many hard-fought battles, and as the news of numerous casualties poured in.

In a gesture of thanks in response, the Dutch Royal Family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa as a gift in thanks for sheltering Juliana and her daughters during the war. The tradition continues to this day and Ottawa’s Canadian Tulip Festival is one of the world’s largest tulip displays, with over a million tulips in over 100 varieties blooming in the National Capital Region.