Canada in the Eurovision Song Contest

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC/Radio-Canada) has a long-standing relationship with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), of which it had been an associate member since the union's creation in 1950.^[1] CBC/Radio-Canada became the first EBU associate member to be invited to participate in a Eurovision event, when it entered Eurovision Young Dancers in 1987 and 1989.^[2] It was the only EBU associate member invited to any Eurovision event until Australia's Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) was invited to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015. Although Canada had not participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in its own right, several Canadian artists had represented other countries:^[3] Sherisse Laurence represented Luxembourg in 1986,^[4] Céline Dion won for Switzerland in 1988, Lara Fabian represented Luxembourg in 1988,^[5] Annie Cotton represented Switzerland in 1993, Natasha St-Pier represented France in 2001, Rykka represented Switzerland in 2016, Katerine Duska represented Greece in 2019, and La Zarra represented France in 2023.

Following the launch of the American Song Contest in 2022, the EBU announced on 25 April 2022 that it would expand the Eurovision brand into North America by creating Eurovision Canada. Through Voxovation, which holds the license to adapt the Eurovision format for other territories, it partnered with Canadian production company Insight Productions to develop the competition,^[6] with plans for the inaugural edition to take place in 2023. The competition was designed to feature musical acts representing each of Canada's ten provinces and three territories, and consist of televised qualifying rounds, semi-finals and a live final.^[7] Artists were expected to perform original songs, with the winner determined by a combination of public voting and a jury of music industry professionals. The project experienced delays and a prolonged lack of updates from organisers throughout 2023 and 2024. In May 2025, a spokesperson for CBC/Radio-Canada confirmed that Eurovision Canada had been shelved. Following consultations with various industry stakeholders, the broadcaster determined that the logistical and financial demands of producing a multi-week, live national touring competition across Canada were "prohibitively expensive".^[8]

In November 2025, the Canadian government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney published its budget for 2025; included in it is a section where the government would work with CBC/Radio-Canada to explore a potential participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.^[9] The broadcaster's news division reported that Carney himself was "personally involved in the push", according to two government sources.^[10][11]

At its 96th general assembly in Prague, Czech Republic, on 25 June 2026, the EBU approved a revision of its statutes.^[12] Historically, full EBU membership required the broadcasters' countries to fall within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or hold membership in the Council of Europe (CoE). The approved changes created a new membership framework, allowing public broadcasters from countries outside the EBA or that are not members of the CoE to obtain full membership, provided they meet core CoE standards and their country maintain a formal observer status with the CoE. As Canada is a CoE observer state, the statutory change made CBC/Radio-Canada eligible for full EBU integration. The assembly subsequently voted to accept CBC/Radio-Canada as a full EBU member, granting the broadcaster immediate rights to apply for any Eurovision event without a special invitation.^[1]

On 1 July 2026, Canada Day, the EBU and CBC/Radio-Canada released a joint announcement confirming that Canada would make its debut at the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 in Bulgaria.^[13][14] In August, the CBC announced the start of the artist selection process, with applications open from 31 August to 9 September before a public and jury process decides the winner.^[15] The song that the chosen artist will perform at the contest will be "developed" later.^[16]

The CBC/Radio-Canada has subsequently clarified that future years may see the launch of a televised public competition series to choose that year's Eurovision submission, but that it was not possible to organize one in 2026 due to the limited time frame.^[17] They have also clarified that the song will include both English and French lyrics, although the winning artist will be able to bring in a guest collaborator if they are not fluent in one of the languages rather than necessarily having to be bilingual.^[17]

• Canada in the OTI Festival