Canada-Sri Lanka relations
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Bilateral relations
Canada and Sri Lanka have a long-standing bilateral partnership based on shared participation in the Commonwealth and other multilateral fora, a long-standing development assistance program, a growing commercial relationship, and a vibrant community of Canadians of Sri Lankan origin. Canadian interest in Sri Lanka is also driven by a foreign policy commitment to the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, with a focus on reconciliation and accountability.
Canada remains committed to supporting the people of Sri Lanka and the ongoing recovery from the devastating effects of the 2022 economic crisis. Canada continues to encourage efforts towards the implementation of necessary political and economic reforms that will help alleviate the hardships facing Sri Lankans while also promoting and protecting democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law.
In Sri Lanka, Canada is represented by the Canadian High Commission in Colombo. Sri Lanka is represented in Canada by the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Ottawa as well as its consulates in Calgary, Halifax, Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.
People-to-people
Strong people-to-people ties exist between the two countries. Canada is home to approximately 200,000 individuals of Sri Lankan descent, living primarily in the Greater Toronto. Canada's Sri Lankan Tamil population is thought to constitute the largest such diaspora in the world outside of India.
Human rights
Canada works bilaterally and multilaterally to advocate for Sri Lanka to uphold its human rights obligations under international law. As a member of the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council since 2018, Canada continues to make constructive recommendations to the Government of Sri Lanka with respect to the situation of human rights in the country. Canada supports Human Rights Council resolutions on Sri Lanka and encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to work cooperatively with all stakeholders to fulfill its various human rights obligations. These include ensuring that constitutional and legislative reforms guarantee equal protections, rights and treatment of all individuals without discrimination on any basis, whether it be faith, gender, caste, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity or language. Canada continues to underscore the need for Sri Lanka to uphold human rights that are fundamental to good governance and democracy, including the rights to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly.
Canada collaborates alongside international partners, including through relevant multilateral bodies, to advocate for human rights and accountability in Sri Lanka, which is an important step toward securing meaningful, long-term peace and reconciliation for the country.
Trade relations
Canada’s commercial relationship with Sri Lanka over recent years has been relatively modest but consistent, with growth seen in particular sectors. In 2023, total merchandise trade between Canada and Sri Lanka was $654.4 million. Canadian merchandise exports to Sri Lanka were $149 million in 2023; cereal and vegetable products made up 65.2% of all exports. Canadian merchandise imports from Sri Lanka reached $505.4 million in 2023. Garments made up 62.3% of all imports.
Canadian companies will find a concentration of business opportunities in agriculture and agri-food, education, and transportation infrastructure. There are also niche opportunities in cleantech, information and communication technologies, and life sciences sectors. Canada and Sri Lanka have had a code-share Air Transport Agreement (ATA) in place since 2016, which facilitates greater trade, investment and people-to-people links between the two countries.
In 2023, Canadian direct investment into Sri Lanka reached $121 million.
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International assistance
Canada’s international assistance in Sri Lanka focuses on five action areas of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy: gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, growth that works for everyone, inclusive governance, peace and security, and environment and climate action. Programming includes initiatives that promote inclusive governance, national reconciliation through language rights and land mine clearance, women’s rights, gender-responsive business development, and climate adaptation.
Canadian programming helps advance peace and reconciliation, improve inclusive democratic governance to address the needs of marginalized communities, strengthen the impact of women peacebuilders, and tackle hate speech and disinformation. Through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), Canada funds small-scale projects in areas such as youth political participation and advancing women’s empowerment.
In 2022-23, Canada contributed a total of $25 million in international assistance to Sri Lanka. For more information on our programming, please see the .
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Partnerships and organizations
To develop effective responses to today’s most pressing global challenges, Canada and Sri Lanka work closely in multilateral forums, such as:
- Commonwealth
- Open Government Partnership (OGP)
- United Nations (UN)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
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