Canada–El Salvador relations are the diplomatic relations between the Canada and the

Republic of El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. Both nations are members of the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

and the United Nations.

History

Diplomatic relations between Canada and El Salvador were established on 29 December 1961. El Salvador opened its 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 ...

in 1973. Initially, Canada accredited an ambassador to El Salvador based in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and then from

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. In 1995, Canada opened a diplomatic office in

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

before establishing a resident embassy in 2005. During the Salvadoran Civil War, Canada accepted thousands of Salvadoran refugees fleeing the war. In 1981, Canada cut aid to El Salvador because of concerns about death squads in the country. Aid was renewed in 1985. After the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords in January 1992, Canada pledged up to $5 million for poverty alleviation, human rights promotion and democratization in El Salvador. In January 2001, an earthquake struck El Salvador killing over 900 people. Canada immediately sent the

436 Transport Squadron 436 Transport Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It currently operates the CC-130J Super Hercules from 8 Wing Trenton in Trenton, Ontario. History 436 Transport Squadron was originally a squadron of the Royal Canadian Air For ...

with aid supplies to El Salvador. Between 2001 and 2010, Canada and El Salvador (along with Guatemala,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

and Nicaragua) negotiated the

Canada–Central American Four Free Trade Agreement The Canada–Central American Four Free Trade Agreement was a proposed free trade agreement between Canada and the Central American states of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua (collectively referred to as the Central American Four or C ...

, however, after twelve rounds of negotiations, no agreement had been reached and the free trade agreement remains defunct. In October 2018, both nations signed an agreement for direct air transportation. In 2018, both nations celebrated 57 years of diplomatic relations.Canada–El Salvador relations
/ref>

High-level visits

High-level visits from Canada to El Salvador * Foreign Vice Minister Jon Allen (2011) * Foreign Minister of State Diane Ablonczy (2011) * Foreign Vice Minister Michael Grant (2018) High-level visits from El Salvador to Canada * President Francisco Flores Pérez (2001)

Transportation

There are direct flights between both nations with Air Transat and

Avianca Costa Rica Avianca Costa Rica S.A., formerly known as LACSA (''Spanish: Lineas Aéreas Costarricenses S.A.''), minority owned by the Synergy Group, is the national airline of Costa Rica and is based in San José. It operates international scheduled servic ...

Trade

In 2017, trade between Canada and El Salvador totaled US$164.6 million. Canada's main exports to El Salvador include: paper and paperboard, plastics, fats and oils, and machinery. El Salvador's main exports to Canada include: sugar, clothing and coffee. In 2016, Canadian direct investment in El Salvador was US$965 million. Canadian multinational company,

Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...

operates in El Salvador.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Canada has an embassy in

.Embassy of Canada in San Salvador
/ref> * El Salvador has an embassy in

and consulates-general 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 ...

, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-El Salvador

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...