Canada – Iceland relations are the international relations between Canada and Iceland. Both nations are members of the Arctic Council, NATO, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization.
History
Relations between Iceland and present-day Canada began over one thousand years ago when Icelander Leif Erikson landed in L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland to establish a colony. 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 at Kinmount, Ontario. Between 1870 and 1914, thousands of Icelanders migrated to North America, with most moving to Canada.
In 1940, during World War II, Canadian troops were based in Iceland, along with troops from the United Kingdom and the United States to counter German advances in the north Atlantic. Canadian Prime Minister William Mackenzie King said this action was made by the Canadian Government at the request of the Government of the United Kingdom. Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced on 18 June 1940 that the first contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force had landed in Iceland. In 1942, Iceland opened a consulate in Winnipeg. Soon after the war, in 1947, both nations officially established diplomatic relations.
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. In May 2001, Iceland established an embassy in the Canadian capital of Ottawa and Canada followed suit by opening an embassy in Reykjavík.
High-level visits
Prime Ministerial visits from Canada to Iceland
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (1981) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (2023)
Prime Ministerial and Presidential visits from Iceland to Canada
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".
There is a community of Icelandic descent concentrated mainly in Gimli, Manitoba. 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.
In 1999, Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade said 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 consul 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 the Order of Manitoba for his leadership work in the Icelandic community. In 2000, Bardal was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon, the highest honour bestowed by the Icelandic government. Former United States Consul to Winnipeg, Mary Speer, described Bardal as a "tireless advocate for strong Canadian-Icelandic relations."
Another descendant of Canada's Icelandic community, Janis Gudrun Johnson was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1990 by then-Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney. Throughout her time in the Senate, Johnson has been a strong proponent for close Canada–Iceland relations and cultural ties. From November 28–29, 2014, Johnson accompanied Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird on a bilateral visit to Reykjavik to discuss a variety of bilateral issues including responsible resource development, expanding the European Free Trade Association free-trade relationship, international security issues and the objectives of the Arctic Economic Council.