By MALIK MERCHANT
(Reporting from London, UK)

Page created: February 19, 2026, last updated: March 12, 2026. Share this page with your family and friends in Canada and around the world with this short link: https://wp.me/p7IezD-gL0

Anchor Links: His Highness the Aga Khan’s visit to Eastern Canada.

Please visit this page frequently for updates on His Highness the Aga Khan’s visit to Eastern Canada from March 25 to 31, 2026. For quick access to our stories on this page, please click the following anchor links:

• March 12, 2026: Canada visit dates of Didar and Mulaqat
• February 15 to Current: Canada visit essential details (updated March 6, 2026)
• February 15, 2026: Message from Ameeraly Kassim-Lakha, the President, His Highness the Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Canada
• February 15, 2026: Ismailis in Montreal celebrate the announcement of His Highness the Aga Khan’s visit to Canada.
• February 13, 2026: His Highness the Aga Khan announces official visit to Canada.
• 2006-2025: Historical Notes
• Ginan: Supplication to the Imam-of-the-Time

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PRE-ARRIVAL NEWS AND EVENTS

March 12, 2026: Announcement of dates of Didar and Mulaqat with Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan

The IICanada newsletter has announced the dates for Didars, Youth Mulaqats, and the Inter-Faith Gathering. It notes that further details on exact times and venues will be shared soon and that the Ottawa and Kingston Jamats will participate in Didars alongside the Jamat of Quebec and the Maritimes. The following are the confirmed dates:

THURSDAY, MARCH 26 

Youth Mulaqat  

For the Jamats of: Montreal Headquarters, Brossard, Laval, Sherbrooke, Ottawa Headquarters, Granby, Halifax, Kingston, Quebec City, St John’s, and Fredericton 

FRIDAY, MARCH 27 

Didar

For the Jamats of: Montreal Headquarters, Laval, Sherbrooke, Halifax, St John’s, and Fredericton 

SATURDAY, MARCH 28 

Didar  

For the Jamats of: Ottawa Headquarters, Brossard, Granby, Kingston, and Quebec City  

SUNDAY, MARCH 29 

Inter-Faith Family Gathering  

For all of Eastern Canada

Youth Mulaqat  

For the Jamats of: Toronto Headquarters, East York, Scarborough, Willowdale, Don Mills, Etobicoke, Downtown Toronto, Guelph, Niagara Falls, Peterborough, Belleville, and Sudbury 

MONDAY, MARCH 30 

Didar  

For the Jamats of: Kitchener Headquarters, Unionville, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Meadowvale, Oshawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Halton, Hamilton, Guelph, London, Barrie, Niagara Falls, Brantford, Windsor, Peterborough, Belleville, and Sudbury 

TUESDAY, MARCH 31 

Youth Mulaqat  

For the Jamats of: Kitchener Headquarters, Richmond Hill, Pickering, Unionville, Meadowvale, Oshawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Halton, Hamilton, London, Barrie, Windsor, and Brantford  

Didar  

For the Jamats of: Toronto Headquarters, East York, Scarborough, Willowdale, Don Mills, Etobicoke, and Downtown Toronto 

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February 15, 2026 to Current: Canada visit essential details

Following the announcement of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s visit to Eastern Canada from March 25-31, 2026, the Ismaili Institutions in Canada have started publishing essential details, information and programs related to the visit on the IICanada website. Please visit the official website or click on the following links for direct access to information.

1. Canada visit: Didar Overview
2. Canada visit: Youth & Young Adults Mulaqat
3. Canada visit: Youth Connect
   • Youth Connect Toronto
   • ​Youth Connect Halton
   • Youth Connect Kitchener
   • Youth Connect Montreal
   • Youth Connect Durham
   • Youth Connect Kingston
   • Youth Connect York
   • Youth Connect Ottawa
4. Canada visit: Inter-Faith Families Information
5. Canada visit: Recitation Auditions
6. Canada visit: Frequently Asked Questions
7. Canada visit: Jamati Joy: He’s finally coming
8. Canada visit: Sukoon: Journey to Didar (1) – Preparing to be in the presence of the Imam-of-the-time
9. Canada visit: Sukoon: Journey to Didar (2) in the Presence of Al-e-Nabi Aulad-e-Ali
10. Canada visit: Jamati Joy: Tiny but Fearless
11. Canada visit: My Didar Journey
12. Canada visit: Canada Visit Eligibility
13. Canada visit: Registration
14. Canada visit: Time-Off Letters
15. Canada visit: Volunteer Registration
16. Canada visit: ACCESS – Canada Visit Support
17. Canada visit: Art Installations
    • Illuminated Threads: Art Installation
    • The Open Door: Art Installation
    • Drops of Mercy: Art Installation
    • Stewards of Earth: Art Installation
18. Canada visit: Echoes of the Heart: Devotional Café
19. Canada Visit: The Ismaili Sounds: “Yak Jama’atim” (One Jamat)
20. Canada visit: Events Calendar | The Ismaili Canada
21. Canada visit: Young Families
22. Canada visit: Seniors
23. Canada visit: Inter-Faith Families
24. Canada visit: Canada Visit Fund
25. Canada visit: Nazrana
26. Canada visit: Caring Pledges
27. Canada visit: Medical Services
28. Canada visit: Diverse Abilities
29. Canada visit: Caregiver
30. Canada visit: Transportation
31. Canada visit: Sustainability & Environment
32. Canada visit: What To Bring
33. Canada visit: Safety & Preparedness
34. Canada Visit: YouTube presentations

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February 15, 2026: Message from the President of His Highness the Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Canada

A special video message by Ameerally Kassim-Lakha, the President of the Aga Khan Council for Canada, on the occasion of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s visit to Canada.

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February 15 2026: Quebec Ismailis Celebrates news of His Highness the Aga Khan’s visit to eastern canada

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February 13-14, 2026: Announcement of His Highness the Aga Khan’s visit to Canada

In a Talika Mubarak read in Jamatkhanas across Canada and worldwide on February 13-14, 2026, and reported on the Ismaili website on February 15, Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, announced his upcoming official visit to Canada from March 25 to 31, 2026, at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, during which he will meet with the Jamat in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces. Hazar Imam also expressed his intention to visit again in the near future to meet with the Jamat in Western Canada.

The historic visit to Canada will be the Ismaili Imam’s seventh to his spiritual children since becoming the Imam on February 4, 2025, following his recent visits to France, Kenya, Uganda, the USA, Portugal and the UK (click on the links for Barakah’s special coverage of the six trips).

We heartily congratulate the Jamat of Canada and share their excitement for this event. We are fully committed to providing comprehensive coverage of the visit, ensuring our readers worldwide are well informed, as we did with Mawlana Hazar Imam’s earlier visits.

External coverage:

• Royal News: Aga Khan to visit Canada
• The Ismaili: Mawlana Hazar Imam announces official visit to Canada

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2006-2025: Historical Notes

Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, will visit Canada in March 2026 at the official invitation of Prime Minister Marc Carney. Before becoming the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada on March 5, 2025, and leading the Party to victory in the Federal election, which made him Canada’s Prime Minister in April 2025, Mark Carney had issued the following statement on his X account regarding the passing of His Late Highness Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims.

The Ismaili community is grounded in the values of faith, education, and justice. Values that His Highness the Aga Khan lived. I was honoured to have met His Highness and was inspired by his example of service. I join the entire Ismaili community in mourning his loss.

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) February 5, 2025

On June 6, 2006, Mawlana Shah Karim was honoured with the Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, then Governor General of Canada. On May 30, 2010, Mawlana Shah Karim received Honorary Citizenship of Canada from then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the foundation-laying ceremony for the Aga Khan Museum, the Ismaili Centre, and their Park. Both these honours underscore the respect and recognition the Ismaili Imamat has earned in Canada, emphasizing the community’s valued role in the country’s fabric.

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Ginan: A perennial supplication to the Imam-of-the-Time from all his spiritual children worldwide

Transliteration

Eji, Aash Karine Ya Ali hun tere dar ubhi,
Kar jodine em mangu Ya Shah;
Dejo didar tusi mahavar datar Shah,
Hama tere charane lagu.

Translation

With hope I stand at Thy door,
O Ali! And sincerely beg of Thee;
Bless me with Thy Holy Didar,
O Great Lord and Benefactor!
At Thy Feet I fall to prostrate

and

O Exalted Islam Shah [Imam-of-the-Time]
Our Lord and Master of the Age,
To you our hearts devoutly supplicate,
O the Eternal King and Lord of our souls!
Grace us with your visit to the Indian Subcontinent
[The Imam’s base at the time was in Iran.]
O Ali! You are Eternal,
You are the Lord of Eternity.
You alone are the Knower of the End,
Of the End that has no End

(Verses from Venti Ginan and Anant Akhado composed by Pir Hasan Kabirdin)

Date posted: February 19, 2026.
Last updated: March 12, 2026.

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