Canada has become eligible to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest, the BBC reported, after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) — the alliance of public broadcasters that runs the contest — widened the criteria for which countries can take part.
How a non-European country can join
Eurovision eligibility has never been purely about geography. It flows from membership of the EBU, which groups public broadcasters from across and beyond Europe. Canada's public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada, is already an associate member of the EBU, and a change to the union's membership rules has opened a path for broadcasters in countries like Canada to take part. No debut year has been confirmed, and any entry would still require formal steps and approval from the contest's organizers.
The Australia precedent
If Canada does compete, it would follow a trail set by Australia, which first appeared in 2015. What began as a one-off invitation to mark the contest's 60th anniversary became permanent, and Australia — whose broadcaster, SBS, is likewise an EBU associate — has competed every year since, at times finishing near the top. That run helped settle a long-running debate about whether a country outside Europe could join without changing the event's character.
A contest that keeps expanding
Eurovision has grown steadily from its 1950s origins into one of the world's most-watched cultural events, drawing tens of millions of viewers. Its expansion has not been without friction: purists question how far the map should stretch, and there are practical wrinkles — Australia, for instance, has agreed it would co-host with a European broadcaster rather than stage the contest at home should it ever win. For now, Canada's eligibility is a milestone in principle; whether CBC/Radio-Canada chooses to send an act, and when, remains to be seen.
