"This is a historic moment for Bulgarians in Canada, because it is happening for the first time," the consul general said excitedly in an interview with Radio Bulgaria, as it is the result of several months of effort. According to her, it is the first time a municipality in Canada has designated a Bulgaria Day and on the initiative of the consulate, the date is not accidental, namely May 24 - the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture.

"On May 25, there will be a special ceremony - the first Bulgarian school in Vancouver "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" turns 30 years old and the children have prepared with a special concert. A representative of the Municipality will come to this important event for them and read the so-called Proclamation that May 24 has been announced as the Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Day in the city of Vancouver," explained Velislava Panova

The city of Vancouver itself hosts a large part of the Bulgarian community in British Columbia, which according to unofficial data is between 5,000 and 6,000 people:

"This is a large part of the people who participate in different types of events that for the last 3 and a half years we have been able to organize precisely in this most remote province of Canada - British Columbia. This is the most western province where we have started to organize outsourced consular days, which had not been done for a long time. The first were during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was something extraordinary for people there because they had access to services that were otherwise 6 hours away by plane. And when we started doing them, they actually had to come to the city center and present themselves to us to do the service.This motivated us to start different initiatives that became quite successful and we continued in the territory of all the other 9 provinces, for which the Consulate General is responsible in the territory of Canada."

"I can say for the first time on your programme that Bulgarian roses will be planted in front of the townhall in the city of Vancouver. This is in the very heart of the city where tens of thousands of people pass by every day. We have already provided them to the municipality as seedlings and we expect to know when  the official planting will be. This is happening for the first time in Vancouver, otherwise we already have a Bulgarian rose garden in the city of Burnaby, which is about 40 minutes from Vancouver, also in the province of British Columbia. So we can we boast that we will have several flower gardens with roses from Bulgaria.

The Consul General in Toronto also clarified that these are rose seedlings planted and grown by Bulgarians in their homes, and are not a special import from Bulgaria, for which multiple permits are required.

It seems that the climate tolerates them well and is similar to the one in Bulgaria, says Mrs. Panova with a smile.

Another important initiative that is gaining more and more popularity is the Bulgaria Days in Canada, which is being held for the third year in a row.

"On the territory of all of Canada, the initiative became known after we discovered three cities connected to Bulgaria in the territory of the province of Ontario. This is the most densely populated province in Canada, where Toronto is also located. The cities are Shipka, Varna and Plevna. These are 3 settlements that bear their names thanks to Bulgarian history and are connected with different stages of the development of Bulgaria. 

That is why we decided to focus our efforts precisely in these 3 cities and organize the first Days of Bulgaria in Canada precisely in the municipality of Shipka, South Huron, where we even planted rosehips as a symbol of the city. But the city is called like this not because of the plant, but because of the battle at Shipka, and all the local people already know this.

A large part of our compatriots in Canada have lived there for more than 20-30 years. Their profile is quite diverse – they include both teachers and university professors, as well as those working in the digital sphere, telecommunications, construction and maintenance. Thanks to their acquaintances, they tell many Canadians about Bulgaria, who remain fascinated by our country when they visit it. 

In recent years, there have been almost no new Bulgarian emigrants there, rather the opposite trend is a fact - Bulgarians who have property in the country sell it and return to Bulgaria.