June 15, 2015
Landscape Ontario and CNLA are gathering support for Flora Canada 2017.

The event will celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday through a National Horticultural Exhibition in Ottawa, which will also showcase the ornamental horticulture industry.

Flora Canada is envisioned as a four-month long event, showcasing the value of urban gardens and landscapes. It will also help promote the movement to create a national botanical garden in Ottawa.

The Flora Canada Advisory Council, made up of community leaders in various fields, is working to gain community and government support and resources for the development of the 2017 event.

Former Landscape Ontario board of directors’ member Tim Kearney CLP, of Ottawa, is joined on the advisory committee by Sundaura Alford, Ottawa Chapter of Landscape Ontario; John Westeinde, Canadensis; Gérald Lajeunesse, Canadensis; Jeff Turner, chair of the Flora Community Advisory Council; Bruce Hillary, Canadensis; and Michel Gauthier, facilitator, MGB Tourfest.

Gauthier, a former executive director of the Ottawa Tulip Festival, said he believes the event could draw up to three million visitors, create nearly 5,000 jobs and generate more than $500 million in economic activity in the capital. The last Canadian city to host an International Horticultural Exhibition was Montreal, which attracted 1.7 million visitors in 1980.

The committee is asking anyone who supports the idea of Flora Canada, to send a letter to your local MP with a CC to the Minister of Agriculture, Minister Ritz.

To find out how to contact your MP, go to http://gfl.me/x2xf.

Visit floracanada.org for more detailed information and to see the level of support garnered to date at national, provincial and local level.