Sarah Mills: We came so close to the zipper merge
Three block of two lanes of traffic merging one by one, with everyone inching forward. It was the zipper merge in action...
OTTAWA — Princess Margriet of the Netherlands is in Ottawa this week, where she plans to visit her birthplace and attend the Canadian Tulip Festival.
The Dutch princess and her husband Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven met with Prime Minister Mark Carney today, who thanked the princess for her lifelong commitment to Canada and the friendship between the countries, from the moment of her birth.
The princess was born in January 1943 at what was then the Ottawa Civic Hospital, which she plans to visit during her trip.
Princess Margriet visited the Canadian War Museum Thursday, where she took part in a wreath-laying ceremony and visited an exhibit on the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War.
This weekend, she will go to the Canadian Tulip Festival, which was founded to celebrate the Dutch royal gift of tulips and commemorates the Ottawa birth of Princess Margriet, the only royal ever born in Canada.
While in Ottawa, the princess will also attend events held by Dutch Ambassador Margriet Vonno and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, visit the Canadian Museum of Nature, meet with veterans and visit Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.
Senator Rebecca Patterson said at the Canadian War Museum Thursday that Princess Margriet’s visit is important during such a “turbulent” time.
“It reconnects us to the roots of Canada,” she said. “It’s kind of revisiting history and restrengthening bonds in a time when our traditional allies… it’s disrupted.”
Margriet Vonno, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Canada, said Princess Margriet is Canada’s princess in a way.
“She has always kept bonds with Canada,” she said.
Carney said Thursday that he recently spoke with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten to renew the countries’ ties and commitment to a strategic partnership.
Vonno said the countries are both being attacked by other actors and are trying to learn together how to defend themselves.
“It’s also nice if you have a friend that you can trust because then you’re stronger together,” she said. “I wish that Canada would come closer to the E.U. and it’s happening.”
In a social media post Thursday, Carney said Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. After the war, he said her mother, Princess Juliana, gifted 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada in gratitude for the leading role Canadian soldiers played in liberating the people of the Netherlands, and for providing refuge to the Dutch royal family.
“Every year, the Canadian Tulip Festival serves as a symbol of the lasting friendship between our two nations. It was an honour to meet Princess Margriet in Ottawa today,” he said.
Public Services and Procurement Canada said in response to an order paper question this week that 517,650 tulip bulbs were planted in 2025. That’s compared to 537,145 in 2024 and 540,880 in 2023.
In 2025, 431,800 tulip bulbs were planted in Ontario, while 85,850 tulip bulbs were planted in Quebec.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2026.
Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
