Diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

between

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

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

were established in 1961. Both nations are members of the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

History

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

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

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and then from

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. In 1995, Canada opened a diplomatic office in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

before establishing a resident embassy in 2005. During the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

, 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 The Chapultepec Peace Accords were a set of Peace treaty, peace agreements signed on January 16, 1992, the day in which the Salvadoran Civil War ended. The treaty established peace between the El Salvador, Salvadoran government and the Farabund ...

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 Forc ...

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. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

) negotiated the Canada–Central American Four Free Trade Agreement, 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 Diane Ablonczy (née Broadway; ; born May 6, 1949) is a former Canadians, Canadian Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament who served in the House of Commons of Canada. Ablonczy represented Calgary ridings from 1993 to 2015, sittin ...

(2011) * Foreign Vice Minister Michael Grant (2018) High-level visits from El Salvador to Canada * President

Francisco Flores Pérez Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez (17 October 1959 – 30 January 2016) was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1999 to 1 June 2004 as a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). ...

(2001)

Transportation

There are direct flights between both nations with

Air Transat Air Transat () is a List of airlines of Canada, Canadian airline headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1986, it operates scheduled and charter flights serving 60 destinations in 25 countries. Air Transat is owned and operated by Transa ...

and

Avianca Costa Rica Avianca Costa Rica S.A., using callsign 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 (), operating as Scotiabank (), is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada's Big Five (banks), Big Five banks, it is the ...

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 a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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 ...

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

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

References