Canada–Czech Republic relations are foreign relations between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Canada has an embassy in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. The Czech Republic has an embassy in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, consulate general in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and honorary consulate in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. Both countries are full members of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and of the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

. There are around 94,000 people of Czech descent living in Canada.

Trade

In 2013, Canadian exports to the Czech Republic (CR) totalled (CAD) $134.8 million. Canadian goods sent to the CR made up of aircraft, helicopters and parts, machinery, turbojets, turbopropellers, medical instruments, pet food, pharmaceuticals, vitamins,

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, plastics and non-alcoholic beverages. Exports from the CR totalled $446.6 million. Czech goods included machinery, iron and steel products, auto parts, tractors, tires, medical instruments, sports equipment,

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

, glass and beer.

Visa dispute

In July 2009, Canada reinstated the requirement for people from the Czech Republic to have visas before entering Canada due to a high number of asylum seekers from the Czech Republic, mainly

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, who allegedly abused the Canadian asylum system.CeskeNoviny: Canada to announce lifting visas for Czechs today
/ref> The Czech Republic reciprocated by recalling its ambassador to Canada for consultations, imposing visa requirement for holders of Canadian diplomatic and official passports, and asking the European Commission to require visas for Canadian citizens to enter the European Union. (The Czech Republic, as a member of the

Schengen Zone The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...

, cannot unilaterally implement visa requirements or controls for Canadian citizens). On 6 May 2009 at the Canada-EU Summit in

(Czech Republic's capital) started negotiations of

Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union and its member states. It has been provisionally applied, thus removing 98% of the preexisting tariffs between the two parts. ...

(CETA), a proposed

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

and

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

agreement between Canada and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. Signing and

ratification Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...

by the Czech Republic are required for CETA to come into effect. Czech Republic declared it won't do either until the visa requirements by Canada are lifted. On 14 Nov 2013 the Canadian ambassador to the Czech Republic

Otto Jelinek Otto John Jelinek (Czech: Otakar Jelínek; born May 20, 1940) is a businessman, former figure skater, and Canadian politician. Jelinek's family fled to Switzerland, then to Canada from Czechoslovakia in 1948, following the Communist coup d'é ...

announced reinstatement of visa-free regime for Czech citizens.

Notes

External links

Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade about relations with the Czech Republic

Canadian embassy Prague

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ottawa

Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Toronto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-Czech Republic Relations

Bilateral relations of the Czech Republic

Trade

Visa dispute

See also

Notes

External links