Just when Eurovision fans were settling into the post-contest off-season, and critics were ready to declare the contest in retreat, the European Broadcasting Union reached across the Atlantic and added a maple leaf to the scoreboard.

On July 1 — Canada Day — the EBU and CBC/Radio-Canada announced that Canada will make its Eurovision Song Contest debut in 2027 in Bulgaria. Canada will be the first new country to join since Australia in 2015. It is one of the contest’s most meaningful moves in years.

It comes after a difficult contest in Vienna. Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia stayed away in protest over Israel’s participation. Eurovision’s measured television reach fell from 166 million in 2025 to 131 million in 2026, with the EBU noting that some figures were naturally lower without the five members who chose not to participate.

CBC/Radio-Canada became a full EBU member on June 25, clearing the way for participation. But Canada was not arriving as a stranger. At Eurovision 2026, it ranked among the top three countries in the “Rest of the World” vote, and Canadians were among the largest ticket-buying groups from outside Europe. Eurovision was recognizing a community already........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)