Happy belated Canada Day! After such a challenging start to 2022, it was a sincere pleasure for CCBC and CanCham Beijing to be able to bring the community together for a fabulous celebration of Canada’s 155th birthday last weekend.

Temperatures and spirits were soaring as we cracked Moosehead beers courtesy of ACBN and Niagara VQAs from Helia Winery (including an ice wine toast!) on the rooftop of the Kerry Hotel, under a 8 by 10 meter Canadian flag. Guests understandably jumped on the PEI Cows Ice Cream freezer for an early refreshment, and caught up on the last few months of updates since our last big event in 2021. Cocktail hour was generously sponsored by CP Rail, and our live entertainment that lit up the dance floor later in the evening was courtesy of our good friends at Teck China.

Productions like this are truly only possible with the support of our perennial Lead Sponsors – as mentioned in the opening remarks on the evening, these are some of Canada’s most established, most respected, and most deeply committed companies to the Canada China bilateral relationship. They are: BMO Financial Group, Manulife Financial, Power Corporation of Canada, and Royal Bank of Canada. The story of Canada and China trade and investment cannot be told without these companies, and we are deeply appreciative of their continued investment in the people to people ties that reinforce the foundations of Sino-Canadian cooperation.

We also had the bittersweet opportunity to host Canada’s longstanding Deputy Head of Mission and Charge d’Affaires, Mr. Jim Nickel, for his final public engagement of his posting in Beijing. He has been with us in the capital since 2018, and he has been a stalwart in both the business and local Canadian communities here, always providing a steady hand for the Canadian mission during four tempestuous years for the Canada China friendship. Jim will be missed by all here in Beijing and we wish he and his wonderful partner France all the best in their next adventure.

No CCBC Canada Day celebration would be complete without being rounded out with an amazing roster of prizes donated by some of Canada’s biggest names – including Tim Hortons, Arcteryx, LuluLemon and many more from our partners at the Kerry Hotel, Sherpas, Plan B and Bluestar AMG. Of course, the most coveted of our many giveaways are always our Grand Prizes: this year, they included two Canada Goose luxury parkas, as well as two return tickets to anywhere in Canada in Air Canada’s award-winning Signature class cabin. Congrats to all the very lucky winners!