The Netherlands gifts Canada 10,000 tulips every year!

The Netherlands are known for their tulips. Luckily for Canada, they receive thousands of these Dutch flowers free every year. This tradition started in 1945 when the Dutch Royal Family sent Canada 100,000 tulip bulbs as a thank-you for sheltering Princess Juliana and her daughters during the WWII's Nazi occupation.

While Princess Juliana was there, she gave birth to one daughter, Princess Margriet at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. In 1946, she sent 20,500 tulip bulbs to the hospital to make a display. She promised to send 10,000 bulbs each year.

In the years following these flower gifts, Ottawa became famous for it's tulips. In 1952, the Ottawa Board of Trade organized the first Canadian Tulip Festival. Queen Juliana attended the festival in 1967 and Princess Margriet attended the festival's 50th anniversary in 2002.

(Source)