News
LNFC Education Section head Elizabete Pētersone invites you to celebrate your child’s Latvian heritage, as Latvian schools in Canada gear up for the 2022/2023 school year.
September 13, 2022 — September has arrived, and children and youth here in the northern hemisphere are back at school after the summer break. Schools in Latvia always start on September 1; in Canada, school starts after Labour Day weekend. Latvian schools in Canada are also opening up their doors to welcome all children of Latvian heritage. It is not just so that they...
JĀbalso! Wednesday, September 14 8:30-10:00 am EDT Party Debate on the Economy and Social Welfare
September 12, 2022 — Watch the debate on the www.jabalso.lv website or on the PBLA Facebook page PBLA Facebook JĀbalso September 14 debate.
Support Ukraine! March of Solidarity Saturday, Sept. 17, Bloor West Village, Toronto (meet in High Park 10 am)
September 11, 2022 — The Ukrainian community has invited us to participate in the March of Solidarity as part of the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival, Saturday, September 17. Assembly begins at 10 am (north entrance to High Park), and the March begins at 11 am, ending at Jane and Bloor at 12 pm. We have been invited to wear national/festive dress and...
JĀbalso! Wednesday, September 7 8:30-10:00 am EDT Party Debate on Education and Culture
September 1, 2022 — Watch the debate on the www.jabalso.lv website or on the PBLA Facebook page.
Election rules have changed: you can vote in person on October 1 with a passport that expired on or after March 1, 2020
September 1, 2022 — Latvian citizens will be able to vote in person on October 1 with an expired Latvian passport, provided that it expired on or after March 1, 2020. On August 30, the Saeima adopted in the final reading the amendments to the Law on Identity Documents developed by the Ministry of the Interior (IeM), which provides that Latvian citizens whose identity...
JĀbalso! Wednesday, August 31 8:30-10:00 am EDT Debate with candidates for the position of Prime Minister
August 29, 2022 — The World Federation of Free Latvians (PBLA in Latvian) is organizing a series of debates in the lead-up to the October 1 Latvian parliamentary elections. The first debate will be held Wednesday, August 31 at 8:30 am EDT. Candidates for the position of Prime Minister will share their views on the tasks at hand, with a focus on defence. Parties...
Latvian Parliamentary Elections 101
August 11, 2022 — Get ready to vote! Elections for the 14th Latvian parliament, the Saeima, are going to be held on October 1, 2022. We urge all Latvian citizens residing in Canada to exercise their right to vote. Our votes will help determine the future course of Latvia. How the Latvian parliamentary system works:- the Saeima is the Latvian parliament consisting of...
LNFC Vice-President Ingrīda Zemīte
August 10, 2022 — This coming Saturday, August 13th, the Latvian Girl Guides of Canada are holding their very last campfire, as the Canadian Latvian Guide organization ceases operation as a separate entity. I can’t help but be nostalgic. Growing up, there was nothing that I looked forward to more than Latvian Guide and Scout camp. We got to sleep in tents! The Rovers...
Black Ribbon Day 2022
August 9, 2022 — August 23 marks Black Ribbon Day, the day in 1939 when Nazi German and Soviet Russia signed a non-aggression treaty and agreed to appropriate the sovereign lands that lay between them. This is the unlawful event that led to the Soviet invasion of the Baltic countries in 1940 and the decades of oppression under Soviet occupation that followed World War...
A New Sample Letter to send to your MP
August 1, 2022 — Canada made significant announcements on June 29, 2022 at the NATO summit in Madrid to expand the NATO mission in Latvia, as well as to expand Canadian diplomatic services in the Baltics. Here is a sample letter to send to your MP to express your support for these new commitments, as well as to urge Canada to continue to support...
"POST SUMMIT BLUES" panel Wednesday, July 13 at 10 a.m. EST
July 9, 2022 — Organized by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, the panelists include Kevin Rex, Embassador, Embassy of Canada to Latvia and Dr. Toms Rostoks, Director at the Centre for Security and Strategic Research, National Defence Academy of Latvia. Click here for: Event Details and Registration
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the LNFC table at Sidrabene's Jāņi yesterday.
June 26, 2022 — A special thank-you to our new members. Thanks to Sidrabene for the opportunity to set up a table. It was great to have a chance to chat with everyone. Finally, thanks again to those who donated prizes: the Canadian Latvian Cultural Centre, the Letts Shop store, Latvija Amerikā newspaper, the Northern Birch Credit Union, the Latvian Embassy in Canada and...
Tuesday, June 14, 7:30 pm in Toronto: Commemoration of the June 14, 1941 Baltic Deportations at Nathan Phillips Square
June 8, 2022 — 2022 has been an unbelievably tragic year for Ukraine. When we as Latvians come together on June 14, we remember the 43,000 Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians who were deported during the night between June 13 and 14, 1941. This year, since Russia invaded Ukraine, more than 1.3 million Ukrainians have been deported to Russia, including more than 230,000 children. Children...
LNFC President Fritz Kristbergs
June 2, 2022 — Many of you have known me for many years as the Senior Pastor of St. John’s Latvian Lutheran Church in Toronto. But starting a new role as the President of the Executive Committee of the Latvian National Federation in Canada, allow me to introduce myself from a new perspective: My name – Fritz Traugott Kristbergs – is my history. I...
Board Chair Rev. Ilze Kuplēns-Ewart's Greetings
May 4, 2022 — Let me begin with some words of appreciation. Taking on the role of Chair of the Board of the Latvian National Federation in Canada is quite the step, made possible only thanks to the active support and engagement of a great team. I am particularly delighted at the opportunity this gives me to work alongside my long-standing friend and former...
New LNFC Executive Committee Starts Work
May 4, 2022 — The newly elected Executive Committee of the Latvian National Federation in Canada (LNFC) held its first meeting on April 21. The meeting happened via Zoom. We had a full agenda, with more than ten topics of discussion. In advance of the meeting, Committee President Fritz Traugott Kristbergs had invited all of the Committee members to submit mandate letters, as concise...
LNAK/LNFC 2022 Board Election News
March 1, 2022 — The last day (March 5) to vote in the LNAK/LNFC Board election is approaching quickly. The LNAK/LNFC Elections Committee announces the following changes to facilitate the voting process: Voting and membership packages can be picked up from the table outside the LNAK/LNFC office in the Latvian Centre. Completed voting packages can be dropped through the mail slot of the Latvian...
World Federation of Free Latvians (PBLA) Grant for Amateur Groups
February 4, 2022 — We announce the call for applications for the program “Development and Artistic Strengthening of Diaspora Amateur groups (DPK)” (Support for Diaspora Amateur Groups) administered by the World Federation of Free Latvians (PBLA). The program provides financial support to selected amateur Latvian diaspora groups around the world. Groups that qualify and are chosen can receive up to the equivalent of EUR...
Annual Fundraising 2022
January 31, 2022 — Dear friends: The Latvian National Federation in Canada Educational and Cultural Foundation invites you to join in this year’s annual fundraising drive so that the foundation can continue supporting Latvian educational and cultural activities here in Canada. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Educational and Cultural Foundation (ECF) board members continue to meet virtually to review new requests for...
Latvian Stem Cell Donors Urgently Needed
January 14, 2022 — Six-month-old Ārends is living with a life-threatening immune deficiency disorder and needs a stem cell, bone marrow transplant, or cord blood donation. If you are of Latvian descent, age 17 to 35, and healthy you could be the one to save his life. Potential donors are invited to visit the Canadian Blood Services website to learn about the Stem Cell...