Canada-Finland relations
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Bilateral relations
Canada and Finland enjoy excellent relations founded on people-to-people links and shared values. The two countries have much in common as northern parliamentary democracies with similar geography, climate, natural resources, and technology-driven economies.
Canada and Finland have a Youth Mobility Agreement, which allows young citizens to live and work in both countries for a period of time.
Canada-Finland relations on Arctic issues are strong. Cooperation takes place predominantly through the Arctic Council, which both countries regard as the leading multilateral forum on Arctic issues. With one third of its territory north of the Arctic Circle, Finland is a natural partner for Canada at the Arctic Council. Officials and companies from Canada and Finland, collaborate closely in the areas of winter navigation, icebreaking, and shipbuilding.
Canada is represented in Finland through an Embassy in Helsinki. In Canada, Finland maintains an Embassy in Ottawa and Honorary Consulates in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Montréal, Thunder Bay, Saint John, Calgary, Halifax, Sudbury, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Québec and St-John’s.
Trade relations
Canada’s bilateral commercial relationship with Finland lies primarily in science, technology, and innovation (STI) partnerships and investments. Finland’s plans to develop a carbon-neutral and circular economy with a focus on emerging battery technologies and forest-based bio industries aligns well with Canada’s priorities.
Finland has high-tech Arctic expertise and experience, which provide the basis for frequent exchanges on best practices. Canadian mining companies have a strong presence in northern Finland. Canadian companies are among the largest private sector employers in Lapland, Finland.
Finland is a strong supporter of free trade and a steady promoter of the Canada-Europe Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA), which it ratified in August 2018. Since 2017, there has been a 33.5% increase in bilateral trade.
In 2023, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Finland was valued at $2.4 billion: Canada exported $502.3 million and imported $1.9 billion in goods.
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Partnerships and organizations
To develop effective responses to today’s most pressing global challenges, Canada and Finland work closely in multilateral fora, such as:
- Arctic Council
- European Union
- International Criminal Court (ICC)
- Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN)
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- Open Government Partnership (OGP)
- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
- The Pacific Alliance
- United Nations (UN)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
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