Canadian-Finnish 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

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Diplomatic relations between them were established on November 21, 1947. Canada has an embassy in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. Finland has an embassy in Ottawa. There are over 143,000 Canadians with Finnish ancestry and over 2,000 Canadian immigrants living in Finland.

World War II

On November 30, 1939, the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

commenced an invasion of Finland. Immediately, the invasion became headline news, and the Canadian public were strongly in favor of "gallant Finland". About 250 Finnish-Canadians left Canada to defend Finland. At first, the idea of leaving Canada to fight in Finland was strongly opposed by the Canadian government. This was due to Finland being a major supporter of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. About 3 months later, the Canadian government completely changed their minds and rather supported the idea. Canada also sent food supplies, clothing and blankets to accompany the Finnish-Canadian fighters, but the 250 fighters did not reach Finland before the 13th of March, when the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

was signed.

Human rights

Finland, like Canada, has traditionally played a very active role in promotion and protection of human rights, humanitarian assistance as well as arms control and disarmament, peacekeeping and crisis management. Over the past few years, Finland has demonstrated particular interest in Canada's human security policies (including responsibility to protect), and increasingly on the "Canadian model of multiculturalism".

Trade

Prior to the economic downturn, Canadian merchandise exports to Finland experienced vast increases - from (CAD) $473.9 million in 2006 to $1.0 billion in 2008. In 2010, exports to Finland plummeted to $400.9 million. In 2012, exports totaled at $423.6 million, showing a slight increase. Canada's main exports to Finland are mineral fuels and

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

(not crude), machinery, pharmaceutical products, and vehicles. In 2012, Canadian merchandise ''imports'' totalled $1.046 billion, down from $1.074 billion in 2010.

Investment

Finland is a large investor in Canada and a priority market for investment attraction. In 2010, direct investment from Finland in Canada was officially listed at $1.1 billion, making Finland Canada's 18th largest investor. Major Finnish investors in Canada include

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

Metso Metso Oyj was a Finnish industrial machinery company focusing on providing technology and services for mining, aggregates, and oil and gas, recycling, pulp and paper and other process industries. On 30 June 2020, Metso's partial demerger and ...

, Wihuri,

Kemira Kemira Oyj () is a global chemicals company serving customers in water intensive industries. Kemira has two main segments, Pulp & Paper and Industry & Water. Kemira is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. In 2019, Kemira had annual revenue of aro ...

, and others. In the same year, Canadian direct investment in Finland was officially listed as $152 million. Canadian companies active in Finland include Bombardier, CGI, Exfo, InMet and

First Quantum Minerals First Quantum Minerals is a Canadian-based mining and metals company whose principal activities include mineral exploration, development and mining. Its main product is copper, which accounts for 80% of revenues as of 2016. First Quantum's com ...

. Canada's mining presence in Finland is estimated at over (CAD) $1 billion in cumulative mining assets.

Arctic Relations

Canada–Finland relations on Arctic issues are strong. Addressing these issues is normally done through the

Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle ...

, as both countries believe it to be the leading way of cooperation on Arctic issues. Canadian mining companies have a large presence in northern Finland. Roughly one third of all Finnish mines are Canadian-owned. Canadian companies are the largest employer in Lapland.

References

External links

Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade about relations with Finland

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland about relations with Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-Finland relations

Bilateral relations of Finland