Taiwanfest stage at Vancouver Art Gallery

Innovia APM 256 coming into Zhongshan Junior High School Station 20130601

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(also known as Republic of China) have maintained unofficial

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

since 1970. First contacts between Canada and Taiwan began in 1871 with the arrival of

George Leslie Mackay George Leslie Mackay (偕瑞理 or 馬偕 ''Má-kai''; 21 March 1844 – 2 June 1901) was a Canadian Presbyterian missionary. He was the first Presbyterian missionary to northern Taiwan (then Formosa), serving with the Canadian Presbyterian Mis ...

. Relations between Canada and the ROC were established in 1942. Since Canada's recognition of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

as the sole representative of "China" in 1970, there are no ambassadorial relations between Canada and Taiwan due to the

Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

's One-China Principle, but there are strong ties of trade and culture between the two entities since at least 1986. Officially, Canada "takes note" of China's claim to Taiwan without endorsing or challenging this position.

History

Early contacts

moved to Taiwan in 1871 as the island's first Presbyterian missionary. He worked at the Canadian Mission's

Tamsui Tamsui District () is a seaside district in New Taipei City, Taiwan adjacent to the Tamsui River and overlooking the Taiwan Strait. The name of the district means "fresh water" in Chinese. Although modest in size (population 189,271), Tamsui ...

outpost as a teacher and

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

. Relations between Canada and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

were established on January 9, 1909. Canada posted its first ambassador for the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in 1942 located in the wartime capital of

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

. The embassy was then moved to the permanent capital of

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

in 1946. However, with the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

victory over the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

, which caused them to retreat to

, formerly a Qing prefecture that was under Japanese dominion for 50 years, while the Communists established the

, the Canadian embassy in Nanjing was kept open until February 26, 1951.

Modern history

Canada continued to recognize the ROC as representing of China after the latter's retreat to Taiwan. In 1955, the Canadian government concluded that the

status of Taiwan The island of Taiwan is the subject of a geopolitical dispute between the Republic of China (ROC), which controls it, and the People's Republic of China (PRC), which claims it as part of its territory. The Republic of China (ROC) was establ ...

remained unresolved. The option of recognizing both the ROC and the

(PRC) was impossible as both authoritarian polities insisted on sole recognition. On 13 October 1970, Canada recognized PRC and suspended diplomatic relations with the

(ROC) in Taiwan. In the

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, titled ''Restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations'', was passed in response to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1668 that requir ...

Canada supported the

(PRC) as the successor state of the

. After diplomatic relations between

and the ROC were suspended, both diplomatic missions were replaced by representative offices. Presently, the

Government of the Republic of China The Government of the Republic of China is the central government, national authority whose actual-controlled territory consists of Taiwan (island), main island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu Islands, Matsu, and list of islands of ...

maintains the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada () in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, and two other offices in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Taiwan External Trade Development Council The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA; ) is a non-profit government co-sponsored trade promotion organization in Taiwan. It was founded in 1970 as China External Trade Development Council (CETRA), but changed its English name in Ja ...

also has offices in

and

. The

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

established the

Canadian Trade Office in Taipei The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT; ; zh, t=加拿大駐臺北貿易辦事處, p=Jiānádà Zhù Táiběi Màoyì Bànshì Chù, poj=Ka-ná-tāi chù Tâi-pak Bō͘-e̍k Pān-sū-chhù) is Canada's representative office in Taiwan, which f ...

(CTOT) in 1986 during the days of

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

. During the mandate of

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

the CTOT expanded and moved to the Xinyi District of

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. In October 2019,

visited Taipei as a private citizen to attend the Yushan Forum, promote his book, ''Right Here, Right Now'', and give a speech that was described as a "thinly-veiled criticism of China's economic model" by the Globe and Mail. In 2024 British Columbia opened a trade office in Taiwan. Called the British Columbia Trade and Investment Representative Office it is located in Taipei.

Economic

In 2019, Taiwan was reportedly the fifth-largest trading partner in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

of Canada. Canada became the 24th largest trade partner of Taiwan, which exported to Canada over $1.5bn worth of goods and services in 2017–18, ranking it 19th on the Canadian list. The main exports from Taiwan to Canada were

mobile devices A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. Mod ...

, recording equipment,

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

products, and

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

products. In 2018, the

balance of trade Balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports of goods over a certain time period. Sometimes, trade in Service (economics), services is also included in the balance of trade but the official IMF d ...

between Taiwan and Canada in 2018 was 47.9 billion Canadian dollars in favour of the Taiwanese. As the Canadian difficulties with China mounted in 2019, academics like Hugh Stephens suggested that the Taiwanese relationship be fostered and promoted, which he saw as being consistent with Canada's democratic values. He would encourage the accession of Taiwan to the CPTPP, and noted that Taiwanese membership with the

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

allowed

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to sign an FTA with Taiwan in 2013. In October 2023, it was announced that Canada and Taiwan has completed negotiations on a foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement. In 2023, Taiwan became Canada's 15th largest trading partner. Top Canadian exports to Taiwan included financial services, intellectual property, research and development, travel and transport. In April 2024, Canada and Taiwan's representative offices signed a science and research arrangement to enable opportunities for commercial partnerships in high tech sectors.

Taiwanfest

Taiwanfest began in 1990 in Vancouver by musical/cultural magnate Cecilia Chueh as a music festival but expanded to include various cultural events. From 2006 onwards, it is also expanded and celebrated in Toronto.

References

External links

Canada and Taiwan – international.gc.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-Taiwan relations

Bilateral relations of Taiwan