There is something special about seeing Hungarian culture and traditions take center stage -even if only for a day - in one of the world’s most multicultural cities. In 2026, HungaroFest, often referred to as the Hungarian festival, was held for the seventh time in Toronto, Canada’s largest city. In addition to fostering cultural ties, the event, launched by HEPA Regional Office Canada and the Hungarian-Canadian Business Association, also aims to promote Hungarian exports and support Hungarian companies in entering the Canadian market. This year, the event once again drew large crowds to the iconic Sankofa Square. Sándor Balla, the Executive Director of HEPA Regional Office Canada, played a central role in bringing the festival to life.
Canada is home to one of the largest Hungarian diasporas in the world, with an estimated 350,000-360,000 people. As a result, HungaroFest serves not only as an important meeting point for the Hungarian community, but also offers an increasingly large Canadian audience the opportunity each year to discover Hungarian culture. The stage featured a vibrant mix of folk and contemporary performances, while alongside traditional folk dance shows, visitors could enjoy classic Hungarian cuisine and a wide selection of Hungarian products. This year’s festival featured popular Hungarian artists such as Halott Pénz, 4S Street and Lilla Polyák.
However, the event was about much more than entertainment. In discussions about foreign market expansion, numbers and business negotiations often take center stage, yet the less tangible human factor is just as important. Cultural connections play a key role in this, as personal experiences and encounters often lay the groundwork for future business cooperation. When a community becomes open to a country’s culture, it also becomes more receptive to its products, services and brands.
That is why it was particularly significant that, alongside a diverse cultural program, export-ready Hungarian companies also played a prominent role at the festival. The Canadian audience had the opportunity to directly experience Hungarian products and innovative solutions such as Kuube’s premium smart furniture and Chameleon Smart Home’s smart home technologies.
According to both organizers and participants, the 2026 edition was the most successful yet. The festival attracted significant media attention and wide public interest. ATV also covered the event in a short news report, which can be viewed in the video below.
The timing of HungaroFest also proved especially fortunate, as just one day earlier, on June 5, 2026, Air Canada launched its first direct Toronto-Budapest flight, offering five weekly connections between the two cities. The new route is the result of several years of coordinated professional work, in which the Embassy of Hungary in Ottawa, the Consulate General in Toronto and HEPA Regional Office Canada all played an active role. HEPA was represented at the launch in Toronto by Sándor Balla and Balázs Csutora, an expert responsible for Canadian relations, while Dr. Gábor Péter Artner, Deputy CEO, was also a member of the delegation welcoming the flight arriving in Budapest.
The new direct flight not only makes it easier to maintain personal ties between the two countries, but also creates new opportunities for trade and investment cooperation.
All of this clearly reflects the dynamic and steadily evolving relationship between Hungary and Canada, as a result of which Canada has become one of Hungary’s most important export markets in North America. Bilateral trade has also remained stable in recent years, ranging between USD 650-700 million. At HEPA, we are proud to actively contribute to this success story.