Canada-Netherlands relations
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Bilateral relations
The Canada-Netherlands bilateral relationship, rooted in a shared WWII history, is dynamic and forward-looking. We benefit from mutual commercial and foreign policy interests, which flow from our common commitment to multilateralism, free and inclusive trade, innovation, and the rules-based international order. Our citizens have significant person-to-person ties, underpinned by immigration past and present.
An important link in Canada’s storied military heritage
The Canadian Forces spearheaded the Liberation of the Netherlands during World War II. Canada gave refuge to the Dutch Royal Family during the War and Princess Margriet was born in the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The Royal Family gifted Canada a multitude of tulip bulbs in recognition of these wartime links. This was the genesis of Ottawa’s well-known Canadian Tulip Festival, which sees millions of tulips blossom annually across the Capital in recognition of the ties between our countries.
Significant people-to-people links
The ties forged during the Second World War led to significant people-to-people links. About one million people of Dutch origin now reside in Canada, representing 3 percent of the Canadian population. In recognition of our close bond, Canada celebrates Dutch Heritage Day on 5 May, which is Liberation Day in the Netherlands.
Recent high-level visits
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the Netherlands on October 29, 2021. He met with then-Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet, members of the Dutch Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament, and other Dutch representatives.
Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet, “the Canadian Princess”, visited Ottawa in May 2022, and met with Prime Minister Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon. Then-Governor General Julie Payette visited the Netherlands in August 2019. She attended a commemorative event to kick off the year-long commemorations of “75 Years of Freedom,” highlighting Canada’s role in the liberation of the Netherlands.
Then-Prime Minister Rutte made an official visit to Canada in October 2018. This visit also marked the first time a Dutch prime minister delivered an address to the Canadian Parliament. Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands paid a state visit to Canada in May 2015.
The last Canadian ministerial visit to the Netherlands was in November 2022 by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly. The last Dutch ministerial visit to Canada was in April 2023 by then-Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Aid, Liesje Schreinemacher.
Diplomatic representation
Canada is represented in the Kingdom of the Netherlands by its Embassy in The Hague, which is also accredited to the Dutch Caribbean constituent countries of Sint Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao and the special municipalities of Saba, Sint Eustasius and Bonaire. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has an Embassy in Ottawa, Consulates-general in Toronto and Vancouver, and honorary consuls in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montréal, Québec City, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
Trade relations
The Netherlands is one of Canada’s most significant trade, investment and innovation partners. It is a country with a deep history of commerce, representing a gateway to Europe across the spectrum of trade, investment, and technology exchange.
The Netherlands was Canada’s top merchandise export destination in the European Union in 2023, with exports valued at $7.55 billion, while Canada imported $5.96 billion worth of goods from the Netherlands.
In 2023, Canada’s services exports to the Netherlands were valued at $2.1 billion while services imported from the Netherlands to Canada were valued at $2.5 billion.
In 2023, Canadian direct investment in the Netherlands was valued at $82.1 billion while Dutch foreign direct investment (FDI) in Canada was valued at $172.9 billion. Much of this investment originates in third countries and simply passes through the Netherlands. When excluding these flows, Dutch foreign direct investment in Canada amounted to $18 billion in 2023.
The Netherlands has an enormous transport logistics infrastructure built around the port of Rotterdam (the largest outside of Asia) and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The country has a highly cosmopolitan, well-educated and diverse workforce and is in an advantageous geographic position within Europe and the European Union.
Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service works with Canadian companies exporting to the Netherlands; assists Dutch companies investing in Canada; and supports science, technology, and innovation partnerships.
The provisional application of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) started on September 21, 2017, at which time all economically significant parts of the agreement entered into force. Since CETA entered into force, exports from Canada to the Netherlands have increased in value by 15.2 percent; exports from the Netherlands to Canada have increased 7.1 percent.
A Science, Technology and Innovation Partnership Agreement, and a bilateral Hydrogen Memorandum of Understanding, provide frameworks for further expanding commercial collaboration.
Related links
The Hague
The Hague – known as the “City of Peace and Justice” – has long been synonymous with international legal institutions, the rule of law, and accountability for the most serious international crimes. In 1899, the Permanent Court of Arbitration was established to help resolve international disputes, and The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 were among the first international treaties addressing the laws of war and war crimes. The Hague is home to the policing institution, Europol, and to the European justice institution, Eurojust, as well as many prominent international courts, tribunals, and legal mechanisms including:
- International Court of Justice (ICJ)
- International Criminal Court (ICC)
- The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)
- International Commission on Missing Persons
- International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)
- Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (KSC)
- Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
- Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL)
- Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (RD4U)
Canada supports these institutions and their important work to strengthen peaceful methods of conflict resolution, to bolster international efforts to end impunity, and to promote respect for human rights, good governance, multilateral efforts to combat atrocity crimes, and international law as a basis upon which States work to resolve disputes. Canada played a pivotal role to establish the International Criminal Court in 2002 and continues to contribute to its development and functioning.
The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) implements the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) to which Canada is a State Party, along with over 190 other countries. The CWC bans the development, use, stockpiling and transfer of chemical weapons, promotes accountability for their use, and monitors production of chemicals and their trade for legitimate purposes. The OPCW won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons, and in 2023, the OPCW verified the complete destruction of the world’s declared chemical weapons stockpiles. Canada’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW is our Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Canada has shown significant financial, human and intellectual leadership in building international stability, peaceful cooperation, and rule of law, including through support to these international organisations based in The Hague. Our strong bilateral partnership with the host country also helps to develop and sustain these institutions.
Canada is proud of the many Canadians who serve the cause of disarmament and non-proliferation, international justice and accountability through their important work at the international organisations, courts and tribunals located in The Hague.
Partnerships and organizations
The Netherlands is a strong international partner and ally for Canada. We are like-minded across a broad spectrum of issues, including our common commitment to human rights, gender equality, combating climate change, multilateralism, and the rules-based international order.
The Dutch are well-regarded multilateral players alongside Canada in the UN, NATO, OSCE, and at the various international institutions headquartered in The Hague. We also share mutually-beneficial partnerships and perspectives with the Dutch on security, intelligence and rule of law issues. Our cooperation in support of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 is but one important example. Our interests also converge in the Americas, where the Kingdom of the Netherlands – which includes the constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten and special municipalities of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire – is a neighbour and friend.
To develop effective responses to today’s most pressing global challenges, Canada and the Netherlands work closely in multilateral fora and instruments, such as:
- Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
- United Nations (UN)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
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