[3] The festival is a cultural and historical aspect of the special Canada–Netherlands relationship, having originated with commemorative donations of tulips to Canada from the Netherlands for Canadian actions during World War II, when Canadian forces led the liberation of the Netherlands and hosted the Dutch royal family in exile.

[citation needed] In the early 2000s, the festival became less focused on tulips, with more emphasis placed on other attractions such as the concerts and a crafts fair.

To rescue the festival, David Luxton, CEO of Ottawa-based explosive detection systems manufacturer Allen-Vanguard, purchased the debt to allow it to reorganize.

2008's speakers included Sir Salman Rushdie, Wired's Chris Anderson, author Jared Diamond, and pianist Angela Hewitt.

The festival was returned to a single site at Commissioners Park, with a Veterans Day ceremony at Beechwood Cemetery.

In 2020, the planned celebrations for the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands were conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, using aerial photography and 360-degree image captures to display the tulips.

As part of the Liberation75 commemoration campaign, 1.1 million orange crown-shaped Liberation75 tulips (formerly known as the Orange Emperor variety), in addition to the deep red Canadian Liberator tulips, were sent from growers in the Netherlands and planted across Canada to honour the 1.1 million Canadians who served during World War II.