Canada Day 2026 Message from the President - Dr. Uche Okereafor

Fellow members of the Igbo Cultural Association of Edmonton, distinguished elders, community leaders, families, youth, friends of ICAE, and fellow Canadians, On behalf of the Igbo Cultural Association of Edmonton, I extend warm Canada Day greetings to our members, our friends, our partners, and all Canadians as we celebrate July 1, 2026.

Canada Day is a moment of celebration. It is a moment to honour the country we now call home, to reflect on the freedoms we enjoy, and to renew our shared responsibility to contribute meaningfully to the society that has welcomed us. For the Igbo community in Edmonton and across Alberta, this year’s Canada Day must also be a moment of deeper reflection. It must be more than a holiday. It must be a call to awareness.

We are living in an important era. Across the world, nations, economies, communities, and institutions are being reshaped. The future is being negotiated by those who are organized, prepared, united, and willing to build. In times like these, communities that understand the moment will rise. Communities that remain divided, distracted, or indifferent may find themselves left behind.

The question before us is simple but powerful: Are we only living in Canada, or are we helping to shape Canada?

For many of us, Canada has become more than a place of residence. It is now our new homeland. It is where our children are being educated. It is where our businesses are growing. It is where we are building careers, homes, friendships, and futures. We must therefore make every effort to settle firmly and deeply. To settle deeply does not mean forgetting where we come from. It means becoming responsible builders where we are. It means participating fully in civic life. It means voting, volunteering, mentoring, investing, serving, and contributing. It means ensuring that the Igbo name is associated not only with individual success, but also with community strength, public service, and collective progress.

As Igbo people, we have always carried within us a powerful spirit of enterprise, resilience, and achievement. But in this season, individual success is not enough. A community may have many successful individuals and still lack collective influence. A community may have wealth and still lack direction. A community may be visible during celebrations and invisible where decisions are made. That must not be our story.

From this Canada Day forward, unity, collaboration, and collective growth must become the new order in every facet of the Igbo community. These must not remain beautiful words we say at events. They must become the way we organize ourselves, resolve disagreements, support one another, mentor our youth, honour our elders, and engage with the wider Canadian society.

Our motto reminds us: Igwe bu ike — strength is in unity. But unity is not simply the gathering of people in one place. Unity is discipline. Unity is sacrifice. Unity is the ability to place the common good above personal pride. Unity is knowing that when one part of the community is weakened, the whole community is diminished. We must ask ourselves difficult questions.

·         Are we building institutions strong enough for our children to inherit?

·         Are we teaching our youth enough about who they are?

·         Are we supporting one another beyond words?

·         Are we prepared to move from celebration to strategy?

·        Are we willing to become a community that is respected not only for culture, but also for vision, organization, and impact?

Our shared heritage remains central to this vision. The Igbo Cultural Association of Edmonton will continue to promote, preserve, and uphold our culture with pride and dignity.

Through the Biafra Memorial, we remember our history with solemnity, humanity, and responsibility. We honour the memory of those who suffered and those who were lost. We also remind our children that identity without memory is fragile. We remember not to divide, but to educate; not to reopen wounds, but to strengthen our commitment to peace, dignity, justice, and human understanding.

Through Taste of Igboland, we celebrate the beauty, flavour, creativity, music, dance, language, and hospitality of our people. We open our doors to our neighbours and show them the richness of Igbo culture. In doing so, we build bridges across communities and contribute to the multicultural fabric of Canada.

Through the prestigious Iri Ji, the New Yam Festival, we honour one of the most important traditions of our people. Iri Ji is not merely an event. It is thanksgiving. It is renewal. It is a reminder that every harvest requires planting, patience, work, and faith. As we celebrate the New Yam Festival, we teach our children that heritage is not something to be remembered occasionally; it is something to be lived, protected, and passed on.

At the same time, heritage must be matched with development. Culture must be supported by structure. Pride must be supported by planning. That is why the steady progress on the proposed Igbo Village is so important. The Igbo Village represents more than land. It represents legacy. It represents the possibility of affordable land for members. It represents a foundation that can serve not only today’s needs, but also tomorrow’s inheritance. For our families, this project speaks to a deeper dream: that we will not merely pass through this province, but that we will plant roots here. That our children will one day look back and say their parents did not only work hard for themselves; they built something enduring for the community. But projects of this nature require trust, transparency, patience, and participation. They cannot be built by a few committed hands while many others stand aside as observers. If we desire collective inheritance, we must embrace collective responsibility.

·         A community that wants legacy must be prepared for sacrifice.

·         A community that wants influence must be prepared for organization.

·         A community that wants respect must be prepared to act with seriousness.

As Alberta approaches another election season, this call to seriousness becomes even more urgent. I encourage every member of the Igbo community to participate actively, thoughtfully, and responsibly in the democratic process. We must place the interest of the Igbo community, and the broader public good, ahead of narrow or temporary considerations. This does not mean we must all think alike or support the same political party. Democracy allows us to hold different views. But as a community, we must be wise enough to identify the issues that affect us collectively. We must ask candidates meaningful questions. What is their plan for affordability? What is their plan for immigrant communities? What is their plan for small businesses? What is their plan for education, youth opportunity, cultural inclusion, and community development? How do they intend to engage communities like ours after the election is over? We must not be satisfied with symbolic recognition alone. We must seek meaningful engagement. We must not appear only during campaign photographs. We must be present where policies are discussed, where partnerships are formed, and where the future of Alberta is shaped.

·         An unorganized community is remembered only during elections.

·         An organized community is respected after elections.

This Canada Day, let us recommit ourselves to becoming that organized community.

Let us teach our children to stand proudly as both Igbo and Canadian. Let us remind them that identity is not a burden. It is a gift. They do not have to abandon their heritage to belong in Canada, and they do not have to reject Canada to honour Igboland. They can stand firmly in both worlds, confident, prepared, and proud.

To our elders, we thank you for carrying the memory of our people.
To our parents, we thank you for your sacrifices.
To our youth, we say, the future is not something you wait for; it is something you prepare for.
To our leaders, we say, leadership must be measured not by title, but by service, humility, and results.
To our entire community, we say, "This is the time to build together.”

Canada has given us opportunities. Let us give Canada our best.

Let us contribute to this country as workers, entrepreneurs, professionals, neighbours, volunteers, voters, builders, and leaders. Let us make the Igbo presence in Alberta a model of dignity, excellence, and contribution.

On this Canada Day, as Canada celebrates being united, strong, and free, may we also become more united as a community, stronger in our institutions, and freer from the divisions that limit collective progress. May the Igbo Cultural Association of Edmonton continue to serve as a home for our people, a bridge to other communities, and a platform for lasting legacy.

Happy Canada Day 2026.

God bless Canada.
God bless Alberta.
God bless Ala Igbo.
God bless the Igbo Cultural Association of Edmonton.

Thank you

Dr. Uche Okereafor