St. Patrick's Day Reception 2026 with Prime Minister Mark Carney

The evening began with remarks from Ambassador Concannon during which he warmly welcomed our many esteemed guests to the Official St Patrick’s Day Reception, giving an overview of our St Patrick’s Day programme, as well as the major events and achievements of the Embassy since the last St Patrick’s Day reception, followed by the Irish and Canadian national anthems.

The University of Ottawa Chancellor, Claudette Commanda, gave a land acknowledgment to recognise the indigenous ownership of the region and blessing of the St Patrick’s Day Reception.

James Maloney, MP spoke passionately of his close ties to Ireland and pride at seeing the bilateral relationship going from strength to strength, as well as the innumerable opportunities for greater cooperation, but economically and culturally, between Ireland and Canada. As Chair of the Canada-Ireland Inter-parliamentary group, James has been a steadfast friend to Ireland.

Mary Concannon also shared the lovely poem ‘A Blessing’ by John O’Donohue to guests before Minister Dara Calleary, TD gave his speech.

Minister Calleary highlighted Prime Minister Mark Carney’s historic family connection to his home county of Mayo, and the 2027 Canada-Ireland 180 Initiative, which aims to honour Irish famine refugees who sought sanctuary in Canada, by showcasing across Canada, the richness of talent in contemporary Irish arts and culture. The Minister gave a special thanks to General John De Chastelain for his invaluable contribution to the Northern Ireland Peace Process and to James Maloney M.P. for his tireless work in strengthening the relationship between Ireland and Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney gave an emotive speech about his family’s Irish roots and described how throughout his career in business and politics he has always drawn inspiration from this strong connection.

The Prime Minister stated his determination to significantly grow Canada’s economic links with Ireland and looked forward to the planned visit of Taoiseach Micheál Martin in April, which will see the Taoiseach lead a multi-city trade mission to Canada, with a delegation of up to five Government Ministers.

Prime Minister Carney also emphasised his desire to visit Ireland again, this time officially as Prime Minister of Canada.

As the evening went on, Tom Jenkins, Executive Chair & Chief Strategy Officer of OpenText, had a book signing for his book 'Shoeboxes' written in collaboration with Kevin Lee. The book provides some meaningful perspective on the assisted famine emigration from south Wicklow and north Wexford.

The guests enjoyed fantastic music by traditional Irish musicians, as well as a stirring performance of ‘The Parting Glass’ by former and current Ottawa Roses of Tralee.

Alongside valued members of the Irish community and business leadership, many Canadian Ministers and Members of Parliament joined the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, including The Honourable Francis Scarpaleggia, Speaker of the House of Commons, The Honourable Kody Blois, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Honourable Mona Fortier, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Honourable Patty Hadju, Minister of Jobs and Families as well as Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, The Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture as well as Minister responsible for Official Languages, Yasir Naqvi MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade and to the Secretary of State, Mayor of Ottawa Mark Sutcliffe and National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak.