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 Canada |  Iceland |
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Canada andIceland have longstanding foreign relations. Contact goes back over a thousand years, but formal diplomatic relations began in 1947. Both nations are members of theArctic Council,NATO,OECD, andWTO. Additionally, Canada holds observer status in theBarents Euro-Arctic Council.
Relations between Iceland and present-day Canada began over one thousand years ago when IcelanderLeif Erikson landed inL'Anse aux Meadows inNewfoundland to establish a colony.[1] However, the colony did not last long, and much of the fate of the migrants is unknown. The first permanent migrants from Iceland arrived in Canada in 1874 to work on the rail lines atKinmount, Ontario.[2] Between 1870 and 1914, thousands of Icelanders migrated toNorth America, with most moving to Canada.[3]
In 1940, duringWorld War II, Canadian troops were based in Iceland, along with troops from theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States to counter German advances in the north Atlantic.Canadian Prime MinisterWilliam Mackenzie King said this action was made by theCanadian Government at the request of theGovernment of the United Kingdom.[4] Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced on 18 June 1940 that the first contingent of theCanadian Expeditionary Force had landed in Iceland.[5] In 1942, Iceland opened a consulate inWinnipeg.[6] Soon after the war, in 1947, both nations officially established diplomatic relations.[6]
In 1948, Iceland appointed an ambassador to Canada with residence inWashington, D.C. In 1949, Canada appointed a non-resident ambassador to Iceland based inOslo,Norway.[6] In May 2001, Iceland established an embassy in the Canadian capital ofOttawa and Canada followed suit by opening an embassy inReykjavík.[6]
Prime Ministerial visits from Canada to Iceland[7][8]
Prime Ministerial and Presidential visits from Iceland to Canada[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
Minister of Labour Immigration inManitoba,Nancy Allan, said "No country in the world is closer connected to Manitoba than Iceland".[20]
There is a community of Icelandic descent concentrated mainly inGimli,Manitoba.[21] 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:[22]
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 honoraryconsul general of Iceland, past president of the Icelandic National League of North America and director of the Canada Iceland Foundation. In 2006, he was the recipient of theOrder of Manitoba for his leadership work in the Icelandic community. In 2000, Bardal was awarded the Knight's Cross of the IcelandicOrder of the Falcon, the highest honour bestowed by the Icelandic government.[23][24][25] FormerUnited StatesConsul to Winnipeg, Mary Speer, described Bardal as a "tireless advocate for strong Canadian-Icelandic relations."[26]
Another descendant of Canada's Icelandic community,Janis Gudrun Johnson was appointed to theSenate of Canada in 1990 by then-Prime Minister of CanadaBrian Mulroney. Throughout her time in the Senate, Johnson has been a strong proponent of close Canada–Iceland relations and cultural ties. From November 28–29, 2014, Johnson accompanied Canadian Minister of Foreign AffairsJohn Baird on a bilateral visit to Reykjavik to discuss a variety of bilateral issues including responsible resource development, expanding theEuropean Free Trade Association free-trade relationship, international security issues and the objectives of the Arctic Economic Council.[27]
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 PresidentKristján 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."[28]
In 1998, the two countries signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement.[29] In 2007, Canada signed afree trade agreement with theEuropean Free Trade Association which includes Iceland.[30][31] This agreement came into force July 1, 2009.[32]
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 per cent.[32]
In 2008, Canada was Iceland's 20th largest trade partner with the top Icelandic export sectors being fish, crustaceans, molluscs (C$11.1m), chemicals (C$4.1m) and machinery (C$3.7m).[33]
In February 2009, theGovernment of Manitoba proposed an initiative where skilled, unemployed workers from Iceland would work to fill vacancies in Manitoba to help Icelanders affected by the2008–2012 Icelandic financial crisis. The Manitoba and Icelandic governments signed off on the initiative in 2009.[20] However, the process was delayed by the federal government's rules around theTemporary Foreign Worker Program. This frustrated the Icelandic Government. A representative of the Icelandic government's Directorate of Labour said "It has moved slower than I expected, and that's bad, not the least for those who are unemployed, because time doesn't work for them."[34]
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.[35] The favoured currency of choice was theCanadian 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.[35]
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,Lawrence Cannon, defended his decision not to include fellowArctic Council members Finland, Iceland and Sweden, on the grounds that the meeting was exclusive to members of theArctic five.[36][37]
Iceland has had direct shipping connections with the Canadian province ofNewfoundland across the North Atlantic Ocean. Thefishing banks off the shore of Newfoundland were frequent destinations for the Icelandic trawlers.[38]
Shipping lineMaersk Line offers a container service fromMontreal to Reykjavík and also a service fromVancouver to Reykjavík.Eimskip, an Icelandic company, operates betweenArgentia, Newfoundland andHalifax, Nova Scotia to Reykjavík.[39]
In 2007, the Canadian Transport Ministry announced anOpen Skies agreement with Iceland, under the Government of Canada's Blue Sky policy. Canadian Minister of International TradeDavid Emerson said "This Blue Sky agreement will complement the recent free trade agreement signed with Iceland and other countries of the European Free Trade Association, and will help facilitate stronger business ties and enhance tourism between Canada and Iceland".[40]
There are direct air links between the two countries. In May 2007,Icelandair commenced flights between Halifax and Iceland.[41][42] In August 2007, Icelandair announced they intended to start flights betweenToronto and Iceland.[43] Flights started in May 2009 between Reykjavík and both Toronto and Halifax.[33]
Starting in March 2013, Icelandair upgraded its seasonal service from Toronto to Reykjavík to year-round.[44] It also launched year-round service from Edmonton starting from March 2014.[45]
The Embassy of Iceland inOttawa, Ontario provides Icelandic diplomatic representation inCanada. The embassy is also responsible for Iceland's relations withCosta Rica. The embassy was established in May 2001 and is located on the seventh floor ofConstitution Square Tower 1, an office building in the city'sdowntown. The ambassador in 2023 is Hlynur Guðjónsson.[48]
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