Prime Minister Mark Carney made a quick visit to Kitchener on Friday to participate in Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest. Carney, who was in southern Ontario that day, stopped by the Schwaben Club in Breslau, just outside Kitchener. During the event, he used a wooden mallet to tap a keg at the fest hall and enjoyed a mug of beer while chatting with local politicians.
The stop at Oktoberfest was sandwiched between a morning commitment 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.
Notably, K-W Oktoberfest has hosted prime ministers in the past. In 2016, Justin Trudeau participated in the opening ceremonies and tapped a keg. Trudeau also attended the festival in 2023 but did not partake in the keg tapping that year.
In 2015, Stephen Harper was present at 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 tapped the keg, and former Canadian Football League player, now Toronto Argonauts general manager, Michael Pinball Clemons served as the parade marshal.
