Michael Taube: Mark Carney finally delivers, uh, Eurovision?

Austrian singer Johannes Pietsch, known as JJ representing Austria with the song "Wasted Love" performs after winning the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel on May 18, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI /AFP via Getty Images

Article content

Canada Day — or, as it used to be called, Dominion Day — has long served as a celebration of pride and national identity. The decision and timing of an announcement of Canada’s entry into an international song competition (which was briefly mentioned in last year’s budget) on that very day struck a strange chord. Unless you take into consideration Prime Minister Mark Carney’s song-and-dance routine about Canada becoming closer to Europe and the European Union.

Article content

Article content

We’ll get to that shortly.

Article content

Article content

Article content

“Canada will participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria,” according to a joint announcement by the European Broadcasting Union and CBC/Radio-Canada on July 1. “Canada is the first new country to join the Eurovision Song Contest since Australia in 2015 and will compete in the Semi-Finals when they join the competition next year. CBC/Radio-Canada will unveil details on how Canada’s entry will be selected later this year.”

Article content

Marie-Philippe Bouchard, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, was quoted in the announcement and said in part, “On this Canada Day, as we celebrate with Canadians across the country and around the world the richness and diversity of Canadian culture, we’re so excited to confirm that we’re bringing the world’s largest live music event to Canadians.” Bouchard also made this assessment, “It will also allow fans in Canada to continue watching and voting in the Song Contest, as they have done for years — with the added thrill of seeing their own country represented on the Eurovision stage.”

Article content

How can Canada be a part of Eurovision? That’s easy: CBC/Radio-Canada became a full member of the European Broadcasting Union on June 25. This is the key to becoming part of the popular song contest. We’re also not the only non-European country that participates (or will participate) in Eurovision. Australia, which was mentioned in the above announcement, joined the competition in 2015. Israel and Morocco are part of Eurovision, too.

Article content

Article content

While I’ve never cared for the Eurovision Song Contest — most of the music is rubbish, campy and unpalatable, in my opinion — there are millions of people around the world who would disagree. The grand final of this year’s 70th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Vienna, reportedly had a “viewing share of 42.6%, over double the broadcaster average,” “a 54.8% share of 15–24-year-olds, up from 2025 and over four times higher than the broadcast channels’ average” and “5.43 million unique viewers on YouTube.” And on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, “official Eurovision content generated more than 2.75 billion views during the season (January 1 – May 30).”

Article content

Article content

Canada is apparently one of the bigger international followers of Eurovision. “Canada ranked in the Top 3 countries in the ‘Rest of the World’ vote,” according to the EBU-CBC/Radio Canada announcement. “Canadians were also among the largest ticket-buyers outside of Europe, with many travelling to Vienna to attend the Semi Finals and Grand Final. Read more about Canada’s Eurovision history here.”