Celebrations for March 25th and 120 years of the Montreal Community

The events were held in the presence of the Vice-President of the Greek Government, Kostis Hatzidakis, who expressed his enthusiasm for the excellent organization and the passion that continues to characterize the city's Greek community.

Brilliant celebrations for the national anniversary and 120 years of the Greek Community of Montreal
Vice-President of the Government Kostis Hatzidakis lays a wreath at the Laval Cenotaph – Photo: Anniversary Committee of 120 Years of the Greek Community of Greater Montreal

On Saturday, Mr. Hatzidakis laid a wreath at the Laval Cenotaph, representing the Greek government. He was joined by three representatives of the Greek Parliament: the Vice-President of the House of Representatives Thanasis Georgantas, the PASOK MP Christina Staraka and the MP for Ilia Nikos Nikolakopoulos, along with representatives of the Greek community. After the ceremony, the Vice-President signed the golden book of the Municipality, formalizing the presence of the Greek state in the anniversary events.

The established doxology for the national anniversary was hel on Sunday, at the Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos.

Mr. Hatzidakis delivered the day's keynote address, referring to the bravery of the Greeks and the timeless continuity of the Nation. He particularly emphasized the role of the Greek community in Montreal, which for 120 years has not only kept the Greek identity alive, but also passed on to the younger generations the love for the homeland.

The culmination of the events was the magnificent parade of March 29 on Jean-Talon Avenue. The Deputy Prime Minister participated as the grand master of ceremonies, having at his side as co-master of ceremonies the mayor of the city, Soraya Martinez Ferrada.

Students from Greek schools, ethnic and local associations and representatives of the Greek diaspora proudly paraded, offering an impressive spectacle of unity and cultural vitality. Minister Mélanie Joly, as well as a host of political figures from Canada, Quebec and local municipalities, attended the ceremony.

Jean Talon Avenue was transformed into a river of blue and white. Flags waved like beating hearts. Children, associations, schools, Greek diaspora figures—all together, an ark of memory and pride. It was a parade whose impact you could feel deep within you. In the pulse, in the enthusiasm, in the gaze of the children who held the flag as if they were holding the future. And just like that, in a city far from Greece, history was reborn. Not as a memory, but as a living act. As proof that the Genos is not lost, it does not fade, it does not forget. It simply continues—with passion, with dignity, with that deep, indestructible Greek soul that knows how to flourish wherever it finds itself. This was Montreal that weekend. A city that became Greece for a while. And a Greece that remembered that its children, wherever they are, never cease to honor it.