Canada–Iceland relations
Canada |
Iceland |
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Canada – Iceland relations are the
History
Relations between Iceland and present-day Canada began over one thousand years ago when Icelander
In 1940, during
In 1948, Iceland appointed an ambassador to Canada with residence in Washington, D.C. In 1949, Canada appointed a non-resident ambassador to Iceland based in Oslo, Norway.[6] In May 2001, Iceland established an embassy in the Canadian capital of Ottawa and Canada followed suit by opening an embassy in Reykjavík.[6]
High-level visits
Prime Ministerial visits from Canada to Iceland[7][8]
- Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (1981)
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (2023)
Prime Ministerial and Presidential visits from Iceland to Canada[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
- President Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (1961, 1967)
- Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson (1964)
- President Kristján Eldjárn (1975)
- President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (1991)
- Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson (2000)
- Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson (2005)
- Prime Minister Geir Haarde (2007, 2008)
- Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson (2013, 2014)
Cultural relations
Minister of Labour Immigration in Manitoba, Nancy Allan, said "No country in the world is closer connected to Manitoba than Iceland".[19]
There is a community of Icelandic descent concentrated mainly in Gimli, Manitoba.[20] In 2008 in Canada, 88,875 people have some ethnic Icelandic background, 30,550 of them in Manitoba. This equates to about a third of Iceland's current population.[2]
In 1999, Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade said [21]
Iceland and Canada have shared close and friendly ties for a long time. A large proportion of the Icelandic population migrated to Canada during the latter part of last century and the early part this century. Today, we find by far the largest population outside Iceland, in Canada.
Neil Bardal was an active member of the Icelandic community in Manitoba and served as a former honorary
Another descendant of Canada's Icelandic community,
Economic relations
In 1975, the Icelandic Government urged Canada to establish a 200-mile offshore fishing limit to protect itself from overfishing by foreign fleets. The Foreign Minister of Iceland, Einar Aguisson, said "we sincerely hope Canada will establish an offshore limit of 200 miles". The Icelandic President Kristján Eldjárn said during a tour of Canada that "Iceland can't wait any longer because of depleted fish stocks and if Canada joins us we will then have an important ally."[27]
In 1998, the two countries signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement.[28] In 2007, Canada signed a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association which includes Iceland.[29][30] This agreement came into force July 1, 2009.[31]
Under this trade agreement, Canadian exports to Iceland such as industrial products received tariff reductions. This included prefabricated buildings, cathode ray tubes, steel structures, aluminum structures, and doors and windows. Tariffs on Canadian frozen French fries exported to Iceland will be reduced by about 40 percent.[31]
In 2008, Canada was Iceland's 20th largest trade partner with the top three Icelandic export sectors being: Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (C$11.1m), chemicals (C$4.1m) and machinery (C$3.7m) [32]
In February 2009, the
In late 2010, the opposition party in Iceland suggested that the country should scrap its currency in favour of switching to a new currency after the very serious banking collapse in 2008. Seven out of ten Icelanders surveyed agreed with changing to a new currency if it meant more economic prosperity.[34] The favoured currency of choice was the Canadian dollar due to the closeness of cultural customs between Canada and Iceland. Neither governments would comment and a speech by Canada's ambassador to Iceland was cancelled in March 2012, when the matter became more prevalent.[34]
Disputes
In early 2010, the government of Iceland protested its exclusion by the government of Canada from a meeting on Arctic sovereignty attended by ministers from, in addition to Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States.
Canada’s then Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Transport links
Sea
Iceland has had direct shipping connections with the Canadian province of
Shipping line
Air
In 2007, the Canadian Transport Ministry announced an
There are direct air links between the two countries. In May 2007, Icelandair commenced flights between Halifax and Iceland.[40][41] In August 2007, Icelandair announced they intended to start flights between Toronto and Iceland.[42] Flights started in May 2009 between Reykjavík and both Toronto and Halifax.[32]
In December 2009, Icelandic airline
Starting from March 2013, Icelandair upgraded its seasonal service from Toronto to Reykjavík to year-round.[45] It also launched year-round service from Edmonton starting from March 2014.[46]
Resident diplomatic missions
- Canada has an embassy in Reykjavík.[47]
- Iceland has an embassy in Ottawa and a consulate-general in Winnipeg.[48]
See also
- Ambassador of Iceland to Canada
- Embassy of Iceland, Ottawa
- Icelandic Canadians
- New Iceland
- Viking Age
References
- ^ Canada-Iceland Relations
- ^ a b Sarah Barmak (2008-04-13). "A picture and a thousand words". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Iceland Review Online: Daily News from Iceland, Current Affairs, Business, Politics, Sports, Culture". Icelandreview.com. 2005-12-06. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Canada's Defence Line, Ottawa Citizen, June 22, 1940.
- ^ Canada's New War moves, Troops Land in Iceland[permanent dead link],Glasgow Herald, June 19, 1940.
- ^ a b c d "Bilateral relations between Iceland and Canada". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
- ^ Pierre Trudeau in Iceland
- ^ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir
- ^ Prime Minister Ásgeir Ásgeirsson in Canada
- ^ "Icelandic Head Visits Poet's Grave". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
- ^ President of Iceland (Kristján Eldjárn) visits Canada
- ^ "Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsso in Winnipeg". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
- ^ Prime Minister visits ancient Icelandic settlement
- ^ Canada, Iceland mark Viking's anniversary
- ^ Visit by His Excellency Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
- ^ Visit of Icelandic Prime Minister
- ^ Iceland's prime minister tours CMHR
- ^ Iceland's prime minister on first visit to Alberta
- ^ a b "Iceland Review Online: Daily News from Iceland, Current Affairs, Business, Politics, Sports, Culture". Iceland Review. 2005-12-06. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ History on Gimli Manitoba[permanent dead link]
- ^ Opening Speech by H.E. Halldór Ásgrímsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade; October 4, 1999
- ^ "CTV Winnipeg- Well-known funeral director dies at 69 – CTV News". Calgary.ctv.ca. 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "CTV Winnipeg- Friends and family of Neil Bardal gather for funeral – CTV News". Calgary.ctv.ca. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Sun, Winnipeg (2010-02-13). "Sunflashes | Manitoba | News". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Speer, Mary (2010-03-06). "Passings / He beat cancer by never letting cancer beat him". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Baird Discusses Arctic and Security Issues in Iceland - Canada News Centre". Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ Set up 200-mile limit, Icelander urges Canada, The Montreal Gazette, Aug 2 1975.
- ^ "Trade and Economic Cooperation Arrangements (TECAs)". International.gc.ca. 2009-06-30. Archived from the original on 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "CBC News – Canada – Canada signs first free trade deal since 2001". Cbc.ca. 2007-06-07. Archived from the original on July 11, 2007. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Canada and EFTA sign free trade agreement | IceNews – Daily News". Icenews.is. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ a b "New Free Trade Agreement Opens Doors for Canadian Business in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland". Marketwire.com. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ a b "Doing Business Abroad – The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service". Tradecommissioner.gc.ca. Retrieved 2010-07-26.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "CBC News – World – Manitoba-Iceland labour partnership sputters". Cbc.ca. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ a b "Iceland thinks about Loonie". The Globe and Mail. Toronto: The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2017-03-11. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "Íslensk stjórnvöld mótmæla fundi hluta Norðurskautsráðsins í Kanada". Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ "Iceland upset by Arctic summit snub". CBC. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ "Investing in Canada, Conference, Radisson SAS Saga | Speeches | Minister | Ministries of Industry" (in Icelandic). Eng.idnadarraduneyti.is. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Iceland – Economic Overview". Ats-sea.agr.gc.ca. 2009-12-14. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ CANADA'S NEW GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES BLUE SKY AGREEMENT WITH THE REPUBLIC OF ICELAND Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Canadian Government press release. 18 July 2007
- ^ "Opodo travel news – Icelandair links Canada and Iceland". News.opodo.co.uk. 2007-05-18. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Icelandair Launches Service from Halifax, Canada Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, PR Newswire, 17 May 2007
- ^ New Icelandair route to Toronto – via Reykjavík, IceNews, August 2, 2007.
- ^ Staff Writer (2009-12-24). "Flights to Iceland to start in June". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Wow air". Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
- ^ "Icelandair to Fly Year-round from Toronto". 2013-02-01.
- ^ "Icelandair Increases Edmonton Service". 2013-10-17.
- ^ Embassy of Canada in Iceland
- ^ "Embassy of Iceland in Canada". Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2017-01-21.