Celine Dion embarks on world tour in September with numerous Canadian stops

TORONTO – Celine Dion is embarking on her first North American tour in more than a decade.

The Quebecois superstar revealed plans to play more than 50 cities across Canada and the United States starting in Quebec City on Sept. 18 and 20.

Dion will then head to Montreal for two shows on Sept. 26 and 27 before hitting Ottawa on Oct. 16 and Toronto on Dec. 9.

The dates are part of a larger world tour that'll coincide with the release of her new album "Courage" later this year.

Dion made the announcement during a Facebook webcast from the Ace Hotel's theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

She performed some of her famous hits, including "My Heart Will Go On" and "I'm Alive," and took questions from viewers on social media.

The singer, who is to end her Las Vegas residency in June, suggested it was time for something new.

"So many people came to see us, and now I think it's time we go see them," she told an audience of her fans.

Tickets for the first leg of the tour go on sale April 12.

She is to return to Canada in 2020 with a second leg of dates next year in Vancouver (April 17), Edmonton (April 21), Saskatoon (April 25) and Winnipeg (April 27).

Further shows outside North America weren't part of the announcement.

Dion told the audience she decided to name her album and tour "Courage" because it recognized the challenges life can hand people. In her case, she said it was the death of her husband and longtime mentor Rene Angelil.

"I went through a lot, and life had given me the tools … to find my inner strength, to find courage to keep going," she said.

"When I lost Renee, before he went to his other life, he wanted me back on stage. He wanted me to make sure I was still practicing my passion, and I wanted to prove to him that I'm fine, we're fine, we're going to be OK. I've got this."

"Courage" marks her first album of new material since her French-language effort "Encore un soir" in 2016.

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