Montreal celebrates Greek Independence Day – Montreal | Globalnews.ca

Montreal’s weekend-long Greek Independence Day celebrations came to a close Sunday afternoon.

The parade has been a tradition in Montreal for over 40 years. The event celebrates the 1821 war of independence against the Ottoman Empire.

This year’s grand marshal was Quebec’s minister responsible for the fight against racism, Christopher Skeete.

Liberal MP for St Laurent, Emmanuela Lambropolous said it’s important to celebrate her roots.

“Its’ always nice to come back and commemorate and honour the heroes of 1821,” she said.

“I think all Greeks feel that we owe our freedom to them because they’re our ancestors and they fought courageously,” added Lambropolous.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and mayor Valerie Plante were happy to participate and waved to the hundreds of spectators lined up on Jean Talon Street.

The parade is organized by the Hellenic Community of Montreal every year.

“It’s a fantastic event celebrating 202 years of Greek independence,” said HCOM VP Michael Tsoukas.

“As a Hellenic Montrealer it’s my big pleasures to be here participating,” he added.

The parade lasted about 45 minutes with Greek schools, organizations, dancers and dignitaries. While the weather wasn’t very spring like, spectators still seemed to enjoy the event.