Prime Minister Mark Carney made a quick visit to Kitchener on Friday to enjoy some beer. Carney, who was in southern Ontario, stopped by the Schwaben Club in Breslau, near Kitchener, to participate in Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest. He ceremoniously tapped a keg using a wooden mallet at the fest hall and later socialized with local politicians over a mug of beer.
The visit was brief, squeezed in between a morning event in the Niagara region and an evening celebration in Brampton for Diwali. K-W Oktoberfest is known as the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside of Munich, Germany.
Previous prime ministers have also graced K-W Oktoberfest. In 2016, Justin Trudeau kicked off the festivities by tapping the keg during the opening ceremony. Trudeau also attended the event in 2023, although he did not participate in the keg tapping that year.
In 2015, Stephen Harper attended the K-W Oktoberfest parade, although he did not march in the parade due to an ongoing federal election at the time. This year, Canadian musician Steven Page had the honor of tapping the keg, and former Canadian Football League player, now Toronto Argonauts general manager, Michael Pinball Clemons led the parade.
