News and Updates
Follow the latest updates and news about our society. This page will be updated on a regular basis until July 2021.
Latest Updates
May 2024 Events
The Dutch-Canadian Remembrance Committee of the Netherlands Association “Je Maintiendrai” Society has reintroduced several previous projects coordinated by the Dutch Liberation 2020 Canadian Society.
Dutch-Canadian Remembrance Day Service 2024
On Saturday, May 4, 2024, members of the Dutch Canadian Community will commemorate the fallen “Dutch citizens” and the contributions of Canadian veterans and families to liberate the Netherlands from Nazi Germany’s occupation during the Second World War.
Erik van der Ven receives Royal recognition from the King of the Netherlands on King’s Day (Koningsdag) in Vancouver, British Columbia.
On April 27, 2022, Erik van der Ven received a Koninklijke Onderscheiding from his Majesty, Koning Willem Alexander of the Netherlands and became a member of the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Erik van der Ven has served the Dutch Community in the Vancouver Lower Mainland of British Columbia in various capacities
Royal Decoration For Dutch Network’s Past President Dr. Adriana Zylmans
It is a great honour and with tremendous joy that I am able to share with you that our past-president Dr. Adriana Zylmans received a royal decoration from His Majesty The King of the Netherlands.
Press Release May 2021
May 5th is Dutch Heritage Day in Canada instituted by a private member’s bill passed in parliament in Ottawa on October 23, 2018. On its third anniversary, Dutch-Canadians in British Columbia are leading the way to profile the day.
New documentary celebrates Canadian role in the liberation of the Netherlands
Made-in-B.C. broadcast marking the 75th Anniversary airs on Global BC on November 7, 2020. Ottawa, ON – November 3, 2020 – It’s been 75 years since Canadians
Celebrating 75 Years of Freedom
In honour of the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands, the Dutch Liberation 2020 Canadian Society has created a temporary display chronicling the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian Armed Forces.
No Ceremony, But Thousands of Tulips to Remember The Fallen Canadian Soldiers in Groesbeek
To honour the fallen Canadian soldiers, thousands of tulips are placed on the graves in Groesbeek. A vase full of tulips for each and every one of them. Employees of the Canadian ambassy help, as do volunteers of the Faces to Graves foundation.
Student Photo Contest
Students, celebrate the Canadian Liberator tulips and enter the BCAITC Student Photo Contest for a chance to win valuable prizes ($375 total prize value)! Plus, all winning photos will
In honour of the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands, the Dutch Liberation 2020 Canadian Society has created a temporary display chronicling the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian Armed Forces. The exhibition covers the Dutch experience under Nazi occupation, how the Canadians helped the Dutch by providing a safe haven for the Royal Family and how the Canadian Forces liberated the Netherlands from the Germans.
The exhibition also explores the immigration of Dutch citizens to Canada and the legacy of how the Dutch and Dutch-Canadians have worked to honour the Canadian effort to free the Netherlands during WWII.
Artifacts featured in the exhibition include souvenirs documenting how the liberation has been recognized over the past 75 years and two examples of souvenirs that were brought back from the Netherlands by Canadians involved in the liberation.
Videos
The Cities Are Turning Red
December 2019:
Global Teenager Project – Echoes 2020
A teacher/student project seeking to link 75 Canadian Schools with 75 Schools in the Netherlands. British Columbia students from grade 7 to grade 12 may participate. The focus of the global initiative is for teachers and students from the Netherlands and across Canada to work together to research a unit of study that may impact learning about “Liberation 1945”.
VIDEO: Holland WW2 tulips blossom into massive project for Abbotsford students
When one Abbotsford elementary school teacher received a batch of tulip bulbs from Agricultural Canada with instructions to plant them for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands, the flowers bloomed into a massive learning experience for her Grade 3/4 class, their parents, the community and even herself.
November 2019:
The final tulip bulbs have been sold! Our Vice-President Erik van der Ven did a presentation at the Dutch Business Club NED event and handed over the last box with flower bulbs to the Vancouver based Consulate General of the Netherlands.
The counselors of the City of Abbotsford have been working hard on planting the Liberator tulips which will turn the streets red this Spring. Thank you Abbotsford!
Vancouver to plant 110,000 tulip bulbs to commemorate Canadian liberation of the Netherlands
Vancouver will be turning red next spring to mark the Canadian liberation of the Netherlands in 1945. About 110,000 red tulip bulbs are being planted around the city to mark the 75th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Nazi occupation by Canadian soldiers during the Second World War.
October 2019:
The individual branches of the Royal Canadian Legion are enjoying a great fundraising project by selling the CANADIAN LIBERATOR at their command, from the Pacific to the Atlantic and here in Fredericton.
The second annual Canadian Walk for Veterans will be held at Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam BC on Saturday, October 19th, 2019″
September 2019:
We are shipping the bulbs!
A big thank you to all our sponsors and individual purchasers.
Press Articles
No Ceremony, But Thousands of Tulips to Remember The Fallen Canadian Soldiers in Groesbeek
To honour the fallen Canadian soldiers, thousands of tulips are placed on the graves in Groesbeek. A vase full of tulips for each and every one of them. Employees of the Canadian ambassy help, as do volunteers of the Faces to Graves foundation.
Bouquets of tulips say thanks to workers at North Van care homes
Source: North Shore News Nothing says spring like tulips. This week, bouquets of the spring flowers also said thanks to front-line healthcare workers at some
Tulips donated to Fraser Valley hospital commemorate Dutch liberation
Source: Mission City Record Bouquets of tulips are dropped off at Chilliwack General Hospital on April 22, 2020, as a commemoration of the Dutch Liberation
Dutch liberation marked with tulips at Langley care home
Source: Aldergrove Star Seniors received tulips thanks to a local bulb company It has been 75 years since Canadian Forces troops helped liberate the Netherlands
Remembrance Blooms at Correlieu Secondary School
Source: Quesnel Cariboo Observer Correlieu Secondary School students planted tulip bulbs in front of the school this fall as part of the “Celebrating Liberation with
Groesbeek’s Canadian War Heroes:
We are celebrating 75 years of freedom and want to honor the Canadians who fell in that cause. The ‘Faces to Graves’ Foundation is achieving this at the Canadian Military Cemetery at Groesbeek by creating a Digital Monument in which these men are given a ‘Face’ through their life story.
5,000 tulip bouquets for veterans’ events are now bringing a ‘ray of sunshine’ to hard-hit care homes
Frontline workers and seniors at care homes around the Lower Mainland received a welcome token of spring this week on behalf of the Dutch Liberation 2020 Canadian Society and the Vancouver Consulate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Small ceremony planned at Duncan cenotaph to commemorate liberation of Netherlands; tulips welcome
With Canadian forces playing such a vital role in the liberation of the Dutch people, war veterans from across the country have been attending ceremonies in the Netherlands to mark the occasion on May 5 every year for decades.
Global Teenager Project – Echoes 2020
A teacher/student project seeking to link 75 Canadian Schools with 75 Schools in the Netherlands. British Columbia students from grade 7 to grade 12 may participate. The focus of the global initiative is for teachers and students from the Netherlands and across Canada to work together to research a unit of study that may impact learning about “Liberation 1945”.
VIDEO: Holland WW2 tulips blossom into massive project for Abbotsford students
When one Abbotsford elementary school teacher received a batch of tulip bulbs from Agricultural Canada with instructions to plant them for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands, the flowers bloomed into a massive learning experience for her Grade 3/4 class, their parents, the community and even herself.
Vancouver to plant 110,000 tulip bulbs to commemorate Canadian liberation of the Netherlands
Vancouver will be turning red next spring to mark the Canadian liberation of the Netherlands in 1945. About 110,000 red tulip bulbs are being planted around the city to mark the 75th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Nazi occupation by Canadian soldiers during the Second World War.
Burnaby company plants 10,000 tulips to commemorate Dutch liberation
Original Source: Burnaby Now A Burnaby-based operator of seniors’ homes is taking part in a national project to commemorate the liberation of the Netherlands by
Blog Articles
Student Photo Contest
Students, celebrate the Canadian Liberator tulips and enter the BCAITC Student Photo Contest for a chance to win valuable prizes ($375 total prize value)! Plus, all winning photos will
5000 tulip bouquets to front line workers, WW II veterans and residents in senior care
On April 22, 2020, 5000 bouquets of tulips will be distributed to more than 20 care homes, retirement residences, and hospitals throughout the Lower Mainland.
News Release
Hundreds of thousands of tulips are blooming in the BC Lower Mainland to remember the liberation of The Netherlands by Canadians In the coming weeks,
Liberation of the Netherlands 1944-45 – “Faces to Graves” Project
by Joost Blom The Dutch Liberation 2020 Canadian Society is a group of volunteers that has got together to assist and promote the commemoration in
Historical Overview
by Albert vander Heide, 2010. Canadian veterans earned lasting gratitude from the Dutch public, in the spring of 1945, welcoming them in an unprecedented outburst
Reflections on Sixty Years of Freedom in the Netherlands – 2005
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 2010 – The six British Columbia regiments, which helped liberate the Netherlands in 1944 and 1945 from its brutal Nazi oppressor,
50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands by Dutch-Canadians in Vancouver, British Columbia
In May 1995, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary, William Zylmans, Hans Steen, Gerry Bouwman, and Hank van Ness were the directors of the Holland Revisited Society
25th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands in Ottawa
The Dutch-Canadian Committee 1945-70 under the Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Juliana and His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands created “Operation Thank You
