The Azerbaijani Canadian community raises Azerbaijan's flag at the Toronto City Hall

We are very proud of the progressive heritage of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), as its birth marked the establishment of the very first secular democracy in the Eastern world. 

In 1918 ADR became the first country in the Muslim world, preceding many Western countries such as the United States, to give women the right to vote. 

The founding Azerbaijan National Council ensured fair representation of the many ethnic minorities in ADR's parliament. The Members of the ADR Parliament included Jews, Poles, Russians, Germans, and Armenians. This is especially impressive when viewed in context of a Muslim-majority country in 1918.

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic only lived for 2 years before being overtaken by the Bolshevik troops in 1920, subsequently becoming part of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan re-gained its independence only in 1991, after the fall of the USSR.

ADR's legacy lived on today, in the multiculutalism being championed both in modern-day Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani communities abroad, like the one here in Canada. The Azerbaijan Canadian community celebrates diversity and consists of Azerbaijanis of many ethnic and religious backgrounds.