Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the

Federal Identity Program The Federal Identity Program (FIP) is the Government of Canada's corporate identity program. The purpose of the FIP is to provide to the public a consistent and unified image for federal government projects and activities. Other objectives of th ...

; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department of the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

that manages Canada's diplomatic and consular relations, promotes Canadian international trade, and leads Canada's international development and humanitarian assistance. It is also responsible for maintaining Canadian government offices abroad with diplomatic and consular status on behalf of all government departments.

History

The department has undergone numerous name changes and re-organizations since its founding in 1909. Originally established as the Department of External Affairs, the department has also been known as Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada throughout its lifetime.

Origins (early 20th century)

Global Affairs Canada was first founded as the Department of External Affairs on 1 June 1909. During and after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, however, Canada assumed progressively greater control over its foreign relations, with its full autonomy in this field being confirmed by the Statute of Westminster in 1931. Still, for historical reasons, the name External Affairs was retained. The Department of Trade and Commerce, which included the

Trade Commissioner Service Part of Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) is a network of more than 1000 trade professionals working in Canadian embassies, high commissions, and consulates A consulate is the office of a consul. A type ...

, was created in 1892 and was combined with the

Department of Industry Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country ...

in 1969 to form the Department of Industry Trade and Commerce (ITC). Osbaldeston, Gordon. 1992. ''Organizing to Govern'', vol. II. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. Both External Affairs and ITC maintained networks of offices abroad, with varying degrees of coordination among them. The Department of Citizenship and Immigration also had offices abroad, in some cases dating back to Confederation.

Reorganization (1970s–80s)

In the 1970s and early 1980s, there were growing efforts to ensure coordination among all Canadian government offices outside Canada and to strengthen the leadership role and authority of heads of post ( ambassadors,

high commissioners High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...

, consuls general) over all Canadian government staff in their areas of accreditation. This led to a 1979 decision by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

to consolidate the various streams of the

Canadian Foreign Service Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

, including the "political" (traditional diplomatic) stream, the

, and the Immigration Foreign Service. This was followed by a decision in February 1982 by Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

to combine External Affairs and International Trade into a single department, initially as the Department of External Affairs and then as External Affairs and International Trade. The change was reflected in a new ''Department of External Affairs Act'' passed in 1983. The 1982 merger was part of larger reorganization of government that also combined the Industry component of ITC with the Department of Regional Economic Expansion.

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (1993–95)

The department's name was changed to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in 1993, formalized by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in 1995, about 60 years after Canada had gained control over its

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

(1931). DFAIT maintained two separate ministers: the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

, with lead responsibility for the portfolio, and the Minister of International Trade. The Minister for International Cooperation, who was responsible for agencies such as the

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2013 by the federal governmen ...

(CIDA), also fell under DFAIT. Moreover, the responsibilities of DFAIT would include Canadian relations with Commonwealth nations—though such nations are not considered 'foreign' to one another. CIDA was formally established in 1968, although a preceding External Aid Office was created as a branch of the External Affairs Department in 1960, building on roots that go back to the

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

in the early 1950s.

Recent developments (21st century)

Through an administrative separation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, two separate departments named Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC) and International Trade Canada (ITCan), respectively, were created in December 2003. However, legislation to formally abolish DFAIT and provide a statutory basis for the separate departments failed to pass a first vote in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

on 15 February 2005. The government, nonetheless, maintained the administrative separation of the two departments despite neither having been established through an Act of Parliament. In early 2006, under the new government of Prime Minister

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. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

, Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade Canada were re-joined to again form a single department known as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. In 2013, included within the Conservative government's omnibus budget bill, ''An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 21, 2013 and other measures'' (or Bill C-60), was a section that would fold the

into the department, creating the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). The bill received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

on 26 June 2013. On 4 November 2015, the Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

's new

Liberal government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

modified the name of the department again. While the legal name of the department remains the ''Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development'', its public designation (applied title) under the

is ''Global Affairs Canada.'' Despite the change to the applied title of the department, the senior minister responsible is called the

, rather than "Minister of Global Affairs".

Functions and structure

GAC is headquartered in the Lester B. Pearson Building at 125

Sussex Drive Sussex Drive (french: Promenade Sussex), also known as Ottawa Regional Road93, is an arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. It is one of the city's main ceremonial and institutional routes. Travelling roughly parallel to the Ott ...

on the banks of the

Rideau River The Rideau River (french: Rivière Rideau) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writin ...

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 ...

, but operates out of several properties in Canada's

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

Ministers

Ministers and parliamentary secretaries to ministers are elected members of the

and accountable to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Ministers are also members of the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

and

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

(and thus entitled to use the prefix "

the Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

"). The current leadership of GAC is provided by three ministers, each with their own responsibilities. The

minister of foreign affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

(currently

Mélanie Joly Mélanie Joly (born January 16, 1979) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada), Minister of Foreign Affairs since October 2021. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Party, Joly repr ...

) is the senior minister in the department, with responsibility for

matters as well as the department overall. This ministerial portfolio includes: *

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada), created by an Act of Parliament in 1984, is an independent, not-for-profit think-tank on Canada's relations with Asia. Based in Vancouver, with a secondary office in Toronto, APF Canada functio ...

International Joint Commission The International Joint Commission (french: Commission mixte internationale) is a bi-national organization established by the governments of the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Its responsibilities were expa ...

* Permanent Joint Board on Defense *

Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission Roosevelt Campobello International Park preserves the house and surrounding landscape of the summer retreat of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt and their family. It is located on the southern tip of Campobello Island in the Canadian provi ...

The

minister of international development An International development minister is a position in many governments responsible for development aid and international development. Country-related articles and lists *: Minister for International Development *: Minister of International D ...

(currently

Harjit Sajjan Harjit Singh Sajjan (, ; born September 6, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of international development since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Sajjan represents the British Columbia (BC) riding ...

) is responsible for

international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...

poverty reduction Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics clas ...

, and

humanitarian assistance Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...

. This ministerial portfolio includes: *

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Business Advisory Council * Development finance institutions **

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

Caribbean Development Bank The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is a financial institution that helps Caribbean nations finance social and economic programs in its member countries. CDB was established by an Agreement signed on October 18, 1969, in Kingston, Jamaica, and ent ...

International Development Research Centre The International Development Research Centre (IDRC; french: Centre de recherches pour le développement international, ''CRDI'') is a Canadian federal Crown corporation that funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions ...

(IDRC) The

minister of international trade, export promotion, small business and economic development The minister of international trade, export promotion, small business and economic development (french: ministre du commerce international, de la promotion des exportations, de la petite entreprise et du développement économique) is a minister ...

(currently

Mary Ng Mary Ng (born December 16, 1969) is a Canadian politician serving as Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development since 2018. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, she has been the member of Parl ...

) is responsible for matters of

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

. This ministerial portfolio includes: *

Business Development Bank of Canada The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC; french: Banque de développement du Canada) is a Crown corporation and national development bank wholly owned by the Government of Canada, mandated to help create and develop Canadian businesses thro ...

Canadian Commercial Corporation The Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC; ) is a Canadian federal Crown corporation mandated to support the growth of international trade by helping Canadian exporters gain access to foreign government procurement markets and by helping governme ...

(CCC) *

Export Development Canada Export Development Canada (EDC; french: Exportation et développement Canada) is Canada's export credit agency and a state-owned enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Canada. Its mandate is to support and develop trade between Canada and ot ...

(EDC) *

Invest in Canada Invest in Canada is an arms-length Government of Canada organization that promotes and attracts foreign direct investment into Canada. It was created through the ''Investment Canada Act'' and launched on March 12, 2018 as a departmental corporati ...

* Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor *

Current departmental structure

Deputy ministers are senior

public servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

who take political direction from ministers and are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department. The current departmental structure, and corresponding executives, are as follows: * Minister of Foreign Affairs –

*** Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs –

Rob Oliphant Robert Oliphant (born June 7, 1956) is a Canadian politician and a United Church minister. He served in the House of Commons as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding of Don Valley West from 2008 to 2011. He returned to office afte ...

*** Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs – Vacant **** Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs – Cindy Termorshuizen ***** North America ***** Latin America and the Caribbean ***** Europe, Middle East and the Maghreb ***** Asia & Africa ** Minister of International Development –

*** Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development –

Kamal Khera Kamalpreet Khera (born February 4, 1989) is a Canadian politician who has been the minister of seniors since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Khera was elected to represent the riding of Brampton West in the House of Commons fo ...

*** Deputy Minister of International Development – Christopher MacLennan ****

**** International Assistance Operations – C. Campbell ** Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development –

*** Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade – Rachel Bendayan *** Deputy Minister of International Trade – David Morrison ****

****

**** Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor Branches of Global Affairs each have their own Assistant Deputy Minister, who report to all three deputy ministers: * Strategic Planning and Policy * Consular, Security and Emergency Management Branch * Global Issues * International Security * International Business Development, Investment & Innovation * Trade Policy & Negotiation * International Platform * Legal Advisor * Human Resources * Corporate Finance and Operations

Organizations

Included in the portfolios of the three Global Affairs ministers are: *

Crown corporations A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

: *#

(CCC) *#

(EDC) *#

(IDRC) *#

* shared-governance corporations (responsibility of Foreign Affairs minister): *#

*# Permanent Joint Board on Defense *#

international organizations An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states an ...

: *#

Business Advisory Council

Nomenclature

The change of terminology from ''external affairs'' to ''foreign affairs'' recognized, albeit belatedly, a shift that had occurred many years before. At the time that the external affairs portfolio was created in 1909, Canada was a self-governing

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and did not have an independent foreign policy. The term ''external affairs'' avoided the question of whether a colony or dominion—self-governing and hence sovereign in some respects—could, by definition, have foreign affairs. Implicitly, since the department was responsible for affairs with both

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

and non-Commonwealth countries, all external relations were of a type, even when the head of state was shared with other nations. Under section 132 of the ''

British North America Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...

'', the federal government had authority to conduct and implement relations with other parts of the British Empire, which were not considered foreign lands. The United Kingdom and other colonial powers still routinely divided their conduct of overseas policy into foreign affairs (e.g. the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

) and domestic or colonial affairs (the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

Dominion Office The position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet-level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free ...

, which were later reorganized and combined into one department: the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

). Canadian interests outside the empire (e.g. between Canada and its non-empire neighbours, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

St. Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, and

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

) were under the purview of the UK Foreign Office. Informally, however, Canada had had relations with the United States in particular, with trade and other relationships pre-dating Confederation.

Foreign relations

Canada's management of its own foreign relations evolved over time, with key milestones including: the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(at the conclusion of which Canada was a signatory of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

and a member of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

); the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

; increased direct conduct of

bilateral Bilateral may refer to any concept including two sides, in particular: * Bilateria, bilateral animals *Bilateralism, the political and cultural relations between two states *Bilateral, occurring on both sides of an organism ( Anatomical terms of ...

matters with the

(where Canada had its own representatives since at least 1927); and finally, the Statute of Westminster and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In terms of Canada's commercial relations, the first trade commissioner,

John Short Larke John Short Larke (May 28, 1840 – April 24, 1910) was Canada's first trade commissioner who represented the country in Australia starting in 1895. Biography John Short Larke was born near Stratton, Cornwall, England, UK. At the age of four, h ...

, was named following a successful trade delegation to Australia led by Canada's first minister of trade and commerce,

Mackenzie Bowell Sir Mackenzie Bowell (; December 27, 1823 – December 10, 1917) was a Canadian newspaper publisher and politician, who served as the fifth prime minister of Canada, in office from 1894 to 1896. Bowell was born in Rickinghall, Suffolk, En ...

. The Statute of Westminster clarified that Canada (and certain other dominions, such as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

) were primarily responsible for, among other things, the conduct of their own foreign affairs. After World War II, Canada was a founding member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and participant in its own right in post-war settlement talks and other international fora, and in most respects the conduct of foreign affairs was no longer colonial. Over the years after the Second World War, a number of other historical traditions were slowly abolished or brought into accordance with reality, such as the practice of Canadian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

s presenting diplomatic credentials signed by the

monarch of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the found ...

(including, on occasion, credentials written in French as an

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

of Canada); Canadian ambassadors now present credentials signed by the

governor general of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

as representative of the Canadian monarch. Other traditions remain, such as the exchange of high commissioners, instead of ambassadors, between Commonwealth countries. (High commissioners present credentials from the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

he prime minister as the head of state was historically shared, and would not accredit a representative to one's self.) Nonetheless, by the time the change in terminology was effected in 1993, Canada's foreign affairs had been conducted separately from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in most significant respects for the entire post-war period, or over 60 years since the Statute of Westminster. This process was paralleled in other areas over this period, including the establishment of Canada's own

supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

as the

court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, the

patriation Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the Parliament o ...

of the constitution, and

Canadian citizenship Canadian nationality law details the conditions in which a person is a national of Canada. With few exceptions, almost all individuals born in the country are automatically citizens at birth. Foreign nationals may naturalize after living in Ca ...

(Canadians had been

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

s, and no citizenship ''per se'' existed until 1947). 111 Sussex 2

In September 2012, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office signed a memorandum of understanding on diplomatic cooperation, which promotes the co-location of embassies, the joint provision of consular services, and common crisis response. The project has been criticized by leading Canadian foreign affairs scholars for undermining Ottawa's foreign policy independence.

International Development and Humanitarian Assistance

Global Affairs Canada funds humanitarian projects, contributes to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, makes smaller emergency contributions through the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()Humanitarian Coalition The Humanitarian Coalition (French: La ''Coalition Humanitaire'') brings together 12 Canadian non-governmental organizations consisting of Action Against Hunger, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, CARE Canada, Doctors of ...

. Support is guided by Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy.

International trade

Within Global Affairs Canada, there are several bodies that facilitate Canada's

system, including the Trade Controls Bureau,

, and the

. Other organizations that facilitate international trade and foreign investment in Canada include the

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...

(CBSA),

(formerly

Foreign Investment Review Agency The Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA) was established by the Canadian Parliament in 1973 to ensure that the foreign acquisition and establishment of businesses in Canada was beneficial to the country. The Foreign Investment Review Act that cr ...

), and the

Canadian International Trade Tribunal The Canadian International Trade Tribunal is an independent quasi-judicial body operating in Canada's trade system. The administrative tribunal reports to Parliament through the Minister of Finance. The Tribunal was established on December 31, 1988 ...

, which is an independent

quasi-judicial body A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been ...

. The CBSA and

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

collect information on all items exported from Canada, and classify these items using categories negotiated by the

World Customs Organization The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The WCO works on customs-related matters including the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics suc ...

.Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database
" Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Updated 2020 December 11. Retrieved 2020 December 11.

References

Notes

External links

*
The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS)Invest In CanadaTravel Reports & Warnings
on travel.gc.ca
Embassy: Canada's Foreign Policy Newsweekly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Global Affairs Canada

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 ...

Diaspora ministries Ministries established in 1993 1993 establishments in Canada

History

Origins (early 20th century)

Reorganization (1970s–80s)

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (1993–95)

Recent developments (21st century)

Functions and structure

Ministers

Current departmental structure

Organizations

Nomenclature

Foreign relations

International Development and Humanitarian Assistance

International trade

See also

References

Notes

External links