Eurovision executive director Martin Green said on March 19 that Canada is welcome to participate in the competition if it wishes, after Prime Minister Mark Carney included the idea in the federal budget last November.
Speaking to the BBC, Green said Canada has not submitted a formal application but would be welcomed. "We know Mark Carney wants to look toward Europe. We'll welcome anyone through this door who wants to share the values of this great event and stand on stage with friends," he said.
Eurovision, as its name suggests, is a competition for European talent but is open to countries whose broadcasters are members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Canada's CBC is not a full member but qualifies as an "associate member."
The only associate member ever allowed to compete in Eurovision is Australia, which was approved in 2015 due to the contest's popularity there. CBC has confirmed it sent personnel to this year's contest as "observers."
Prime Minister Mark Carney first proposed Canada joining Eurovision in the federal budget of November 2025—a sign of the government's strategic reorientation away from the United States and toward Europe. A single line in the near-500-page document said the government is working with CBC to "examine the possibility of participating in Eurovision."
Two government sources told CBC that Carney—who lived and studied in Britain for many years, most recently as Governor of the Bank of England—personally pushed the move.
"I think this is a platform for Canada to shine," Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in November. "This is about protecting identity—we want to protect sovereignty, but also help those in the arts and film shine on the world stage. Canadians have a lot to contribute."
Canada had considered joining Eurovision before; in 2022, CBC dismissed the idea as "too expensive." Though it has never formally participated, many Canadian artists have appeared in the contest, most famously Céline Dion, who won for Switzerland in 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi. In 2001, Natasha St-Pier represented France, and La Zarra did the same in 2023.
Contestants are not required to be citizens of the country they represent, though some participating nations impose that requirement.
