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

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

have longstanding

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 ...

(previously between Canada and the Soviet Union). As vast northern countries, Canada and Russia share some interests and cooperative policies. However, the open and democratic political system of Canada contrasts with the closed Russian system, as was the case during the communist era of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(USSR). Under the Presidency of Vladimir Putin, the Canadian government has routinely criticized the erosion of Russian democracy, persistent human rights abuses, and hostile foreign policy towards Canada and its NATO allies. In 2014, relations significantly deteriorated as a result of the Russian annexation of Crimea and Russian involvement in the

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

. Relations between Russia and Canada reached a state of near-total collapse after the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. Some commentators argue that Russia-Canada relations since 2014 are more hostile and confrontational than at any point during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

History

Background

As part of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, Canada did not establish a foreign ministry ( External Affairs) until 1909 and developed an independent foreign policy only after the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

of 1917 and the creation of the USSR. In 1931, Canada imposed an

embargo Economic sanctions or embargoes are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of coercion that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior throu ...

on certain Soviet goods. The embargo was a response to the fact that the Soviet government had previously cut trade relations with Canada. This trade war between the USSR and Canada lasted until 1936. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were finally established on June 12, 1942, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when Canada joined the United Kingdom and other Western democratic countries in alliance with the Soviet Union against the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

following the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

. During the

, Canada was part of the democratic Western bloc and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

in opposition to the Soviet-led

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

. Compared to the United States and the United Kingdom, Canadian policy towards the Soviet Union was less confrontational, in part because Canada was not a nuclear power (without on-land nuclear warheads). In 1991, Canada was the first major Western country to recognize the independence of the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, which helped to cement their international legitimacy and formalize the end of the Soviet Union. Canada and post-Soviet Russia established relations in 1992.

Relations since 1991 Soviet dissolution

Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in Australia 7-9 September 2007-15

Meetings between Canadian and Russian representatives regularly occur at the highest levels. 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. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

and President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

met for the second time at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm. They first met at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg in 2006 in which they issued joint statements on Canada-Russia Relations and Canada-Russia Energy Cooperation. Canada and Russia maintain regular political dialogue on security, counter-terrorism and global issues. This dialogue has been incorporated into the Global Security Talks, which allow high-level officials to share concerns and solutions on non-proliferation, regional issues and defence relations. Canada's major security undertaking with Russia is the leading role in the

Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction The Group of Seven, G7-led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (Global Partnership) is an international security initiative announced at the 28th G8 summit, 2002 G8 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in re ...

, a G8 initiative first proposed at Kananaskis. This programme had a budget of up to $25 billion over twenty years. On 12 June 2007, Canada and Russia marked the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Deterioration since Russo-Ukrainian conflict

Relations between Canada and Russia deteriorated rapidly after the 2014

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

. In response to the annexation, Canada imposed sanctions on Russian officials. On March 3, 2014, the Canadian House of Commons passed a unanimous motion condemning Russia's intervention in Crimea. According to a 2017

Pew Global Attitudes Project The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It also ...

survey, 27% of Canadians have a favourable view of Russia, with 59% expressing an unfavourable view. As of December 2020, Canadian public opinion on Vladimir Putin and Russia remains highly negative, with 62% of Canadians holding an unfavourable view of Russia. On 1 February 2022 rumours of open conflict were thick and a helpful list of Canadian sanctions tools was provided by consultant attorneys. There were then three pieces of secondary legislation that collectively formed the "Sanctions Regime", under the

Special Economic Measures Act The ''Special Economic Measures Act'' () (S.C. 1992, c. 17) is a statute of the Parliament of Canada, passed in 1992 under the 24th Canadian Ministry, second Mulroney ministry in the 34th Canadian Parliament. The Government of Canada department r ...

: *

Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces Mi ...

(SEMRR) * Special Economic Measures (Ukraine) Regulations (SEMUR) * Freezing Assets of Corrupt Foreign Officials (Ukraine) Regulations (FACFOUR) Relations remained frosty until February 24, 2022, when they turned openly hostile after the

. Canada's government condemned the invasion, imposed punitive sanctions on Russian officials, banned Russian aircraft from its

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is t ...

, and imposed a total ban on Russian oil imports in response to the invasion. On 27 April 2022, Canadian lawmakers in the House of Commons voted to recognize Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide. In response to the sanctions from Canada, Russia banned many Canadian officials from entering the country, including Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

and several provincial premiers. On May 8, Russia placed Canada on a list of "unfriendly countries", along with

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 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

members,

members (except Turkey),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

and

. The Canadian authorities do not intend to develop cooperation with Russia in the Arctic. This was announced on March 28 2025, by newly inaugurated Canadian Prime Minister

Mark Carney Mark Joseph Carney (born March 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician and economist who has served as the 24th and current Prime Minister of Canada, prime minister of Canada since 2025. He has served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, lead ...

during a conversation with reporters in Montreal.

Cultural relations

Culture has a high profile in Russia, where a rapidly developing market presents new opportunities for Canadian cultural goods and services. Specialized film festivals, book fairs, cultural expos, performances and exhibitions are widely attended and are seen as a conduit of social values. Canada's cultural relations with Russia are increasingly vibrant, particularly following former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson's state visit to Russia in the fall of 2003, when a delegation of prominent Canadians in the cultural field established lasting contacts with their Russian counterparts. Music of Russian romantic composers - notably

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

and, to a lesser degree, Glinka,

Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (12 November 183327 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five", a group dedicated to prod ...

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

, and Glazunov - has been extremely popular with Canadian audiences in the 20th century. The expatriate

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

has been the dominant figure of Russian music after 1900, but several Soviet composers - notably

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...

, and, less often,

Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...

- have been represented steadily on Canadian programs. Kabalevsky visited Canada in 1978 (and several times previously), but by that year neither early nor recent works of Canadian composers had been adopted into the Soviet repertoire, though Canadian artists occasionally had performed such works on visits to the USSR. Overtures have been made. In the fall of 1977, the composer

Harry Somers Harry Stewart Somers, CC (September 11, 1925 – March 9, 1999) was a contemporary Canadian composer. Somers earned the unofficial title of "Darling of Canadian Composition." He was a founding member of the Canadian League of Composers (CLC) a ...

and the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

's John Peter Lee Roberts spent two weeks in the USSR meeting members of the

Union of Soviet Composers The Union of Russian Composers (formerly the Union of Soviet Composers, Order of Lenin Union of Composers of USSR () (1932– ), and Union of Soviet Composers of the USSR) is a state-created organization for musicians and musicologists created in 1 ...

, performers, and critics, and playing for them recordings of Canadian works. In 1978, in exchange, the Soviet composer and the pianist

Andrei Eshpai Andrei Yakovlevich Eshpai (15 May 19258 November 2015) was a Soviet composer. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1981. Biography Eshpai was born at Kozmodemyansk, Mari ASSR, Russian SFSR to a Mari father and Russian ...

visited the CMCentre. In 2004, the

State Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

in St. Petersburg hosted works by

Tom Thomson Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His wo ...

, the first exhibition devoted to a Canadian artist at the Hermitage. The Hermitage also had a very successful

Jean-Paul Riopelle Jean-Paul Riopelle, (October 7, 1923 – March 12, 2002) was a Canadian painter and sculptor from Quebec. He had one of the longest and most important international careers of the sixteen signatories of the '' Refus Global'', the 1948 manifest ...

exhibit in the summer of 2006. In 2007 artist

Jeff Wall Jeffrey Wall, Order of Canada, OC, Royal Society of Canada, RSA (born September 29, 1946) is a Canadian photographer. He is artist best known for his large-scale back-lit Cibachrome photographs and art history writing. Early in his career, he h ...

exhibited at the Moscow Art Biennale in February; and over 40 nights of Canadian theatrical performances in Russia were staged by

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair lo ...

, Compagnie Marie Chouinard, Cirque Eloize and Theatre Smith-Gilmour at the Chekhov Theatre Festival. The year 2007 also marks the 50th anniversary of

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; 25 September 19324 October 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was among the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian ...

's tour of the Soviet Union in 1957. 2017 C1C - RUS v CAN - 08

Canada and Russia share an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

rivalry, resulting in a number of events played between their national ice hockey teams; including the 1972

Summit Series The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (), or Series of the Century (), was an eight-game ice hockey series between the Soviet Union and Canada, held in September 1972. It was the first competition between the Soviet nation ...

, and the

1974 Summit Series The 1974 Summit Series was the second competition between Soviet and Canadian professional ice hockey players. It used the same format as the 1972 Summit Series, with four games across Canada and four in Moscow. The Soviet team won the series ...

. The CHL Canada/Russia Series, a

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

tournament between players of the

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; , LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three me ...

and a select team from Russia, has been played annually since 2003.

Economic relations

Growing domestic demand combined with vast natural resource wealth had made Russia a prime destination for the export of Canadian goods and services and for new Canadian

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an ownership stake in a company, made by a foreign investor, company, or government from another country. More specifically, it describes a controlling ownership an asset in one country by an entity based i ...

. To help facilitate closer economic ties between Canada and Russia, the governments of both countries participated in the Canada-Russia Intergovernmental Economic Commission (IEC). Working groups were active year-round in the areas of agri-food and agriculture, fuel and energy, construction and housing, mining, and the Arctic and North. This all changed when on 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then "Canada has suspended tsbilateral cooperation with Russia, and maintains only limited engagement with Russia in multilateral forums".

Pre-invasion

The first-ever Canada-Russia Business Summit, organized jointly by Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association (CERBA) and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), was held March 26–27, 2007, in Ottawa. This event successfully combined the 6th session of the Canada-Russia IEC, co-chaired by Minister Emerson and Russian Agriculture Minister

Alexey Gordeyev Alexey Vasilyevich Gordeyev (; born 28 February 1955) is a Russian politician who served as Member and Deputy Speaker of the State Duma. Previously he was the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 2000 to 2004 and from 2018 to 2020, Governor of ...

, and the second meeting of the Canada-Russia Business Council (CRBC). Interest and attendance from both sides were high with over 300 participants including special guests

Vladislav Tretyak Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak MP ( rus, links=no, Владислав Александрович Третьяк, p=trʲɪˈtʲjak; born 25 April 1952) is a Russian former goaltender for the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. He was indu ...

, the famed Russian goalie in the 1972 Canada Russia hockey summit, now Duma member and co-chair of the Canada Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group. A Canada-Russia Business Summit was organized in Ottawa on 1 June 2011 by CERBA, in coordination with the Government of Canada and the Government of Russia. The event was co-chaired on the government level by the Russian First Deputy Prime Minister

Viktor Zubkov Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov ( rus, Ви́ктор Алексе́евич Зубко́в, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ zʊpˈkof; born 15 September 1941) is a Russian civil servant, politician and businessman who served as the List of h ...

and the Canadian Minister of International Trade Edward Fast. The event brought together CEOs from major Canadian players in the Russian market as well as shareholders and top management from their leading Russian partners, who discussed bilateral trade and investment issues. June 1 was a prelude to the meetings of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission (IEC) on June 2. From the Russian side, among participants in the Council were: H.E. Georgiy Mamedov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Canada; O. Betin, Head of the Tambov Oblast Administration; A. Krasnov, Executive Vice-President of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games "Sochi 2014"; A. Dzhordzhadze, Deputy CEO, "2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia"; A. Tikhonov, First Deputy Chairman of the Board Vnesheconombank; A. Varichev, General Director of Holding Company METALLOINVEST JSC; Y. Kotliarov, General Manager, Moscow Branch Office, SNC-Lavalin; A. Sitnikov, SKOLKOVO; M. Lachinov, "Russian Venture Company"; D. Akhanov,

RUSNANO Rusnano Group () is a Russian state-established and funded company. The Rusnano Group's mission is to create competitive nanotechnology-based industry in Russia. Rusnano invests directly and through indirect funds into all major knowledge-based ...

and other representatives of government authorities and business circles. Among participants from Canada were: Joan Sloan, the Canadian Ambassador to the Russian Federation; Edward Fast, Minister of International Trade;

Gerry Ritz Gerry Ritz (born August 19, 1951) is a former Canadian politician. He served as member of the House of Commons of Canada for Battlefords—Lloydminster from 1997 until his resignation in 2017. He served as Canada's agriculture minister from 2 ...

, Minister of Agricultural; Nathan Hunt, Chairman of the National Board CERBA;

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer, who resigned, and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to ...

, Vice-President of RIM-Blackberry; Chris Erickson, Partner of the Pangaea Ventures Ltd.; Andrew Cranston, Managing Partner KPMG; David Aylen, Managing Partner of the Gowlings International Inc.; Isabelle Des Chenes, Vice-President of the Forest Products Association of Canada; Michael McAdoo, Vice-President of the

Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Inc. () is a Canadian aerospace manufacturer that produces business jets. Headquartered in Montreal, the company was founded in 1942 by Joseph-Armand Bombardier to market his snowmobiles, and it later became one of the world's big ...

and other representatives of government authorities and business circles. A significant number of positive developments occurred on both June 1 and 2 including partnerships and perspective agreements in the nanotechnology industry, aerospace, energy efficiency, construction, innovation and sports infrastructure.

Post-invasion

As of June 2022, due to Russia invading Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022, Canada has imposed economic sanctions on Russia that will ban Canada from exporting services related to Russia's oil, gas, and chemical industries. These sanctions will act to have pressure to vacate territory that Canada recognizes as Ukrainian and occupied by Russian forces.

Diplomatic relations

Canada is officially represented in Russia by an Embassy in Moscow as well as an Honorary Consulate in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

. The Russian Federation maintains an Embassy in Ottawa, two consulates-general (in

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 ...

and

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 ...

), and an Honorary Consulate 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 ...

. The Canadian ambassador to Russia is Sarah Taylor, appointed in November 2023. Russia's ambassador to Canada is Oleg Stepanov.

Membership in international organizations

Both countries cooperate in a number of bilateral and multilateral programs including the UN, APEC, and NATO-Russia Council. Active bilateral cooperation between the two countries began more than 35 years ago. Through the Arctic and North Working Group of the Canada-Russia IEC, both countries work together to develop a forward-looking agenda on northern cooperation. The Canadian International Development Agency's Russia Program, established in 1991, is a concrete demonstration of Canada's long term commitment to assist the process of reform and transition in Russia. The overall goal of the programme is to support the establishment of a stable, prosperous and democratic Russia with a well-developed market economy and efficient, responsive institutions. Yes. Both countries are also members of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

and the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...

in which both states enjoyed a rivalry in ice hockey.

Russian intelligence operations in Canada

Operations that have been documented include: * According to Christopher Andrew's and

Vasili Mitrokhin Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin (; March 3, 1922 – January 23, 2004) was an archivist for the Soviet Union's foreign intelligence service, the First Chief Directorate of the KGB, who defected to the United Kingdom in 1992. Mitrokhin first offer ...

's book based on the

Mitrokhin archive The Mitrokhin Archive refers to a collection of handwritten notes about secret KGB operations spanning the period between the 1930s and 1980s made by KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin which he shared with British intelligence in the early 1990s. Mitr ...

, the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

probably established contact with Canadian terrorist group

Front de libération du Québec The (FLQ) was a Quebec separatist terrorist group which aimed to establish an independent and socialist Quebec. Founded sometime in the early 1960s, the FLQ conducted a number of attacks between 1963 and 1970,Reich, Walter. ''Origins of Terror ...

(FLQ). John Barron also mentions an agreement between KGB and Cuba, referring to the FLQ in April 1970. Hugh Hambleton was established in Quebec in 1964 when Quebec established closer relations with France. * The KGB was concerned that FLQ's terrorist attacks could be linked to the Soviet Union. It designed a disinformation campaign and forged documents to portray FLQ as a CIA false flag operation. A photocopy of the forged "CIA document" was "leaked" to Montreal Star in September 1971. The operation was so successful that Canada's Prime Minister believed that the CIA had conducted operations in Canada. The story was still quoted in the 1990s, even among academic authors. * Russian government agents have a record of using Canadian passports and identities (either genuine, or false), as, in recent history, evidenced by the cases of Elena Miller, ' Paul Hampel' (2006) and some members of the group of Russian

sleeper agent A sleeper agent is a spy or operative who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but instead to act as a potential asset on short notice if activated in the future. Even if not activated, the "sle ...

s ("

Illegals Program The Illegals Program (so named by the United States Department of Justice) was a network of Russian sleeper agents under unofficial cover. An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) culminated in the arrest of ten agents on ...

") arrested in the US June 2010.Alleged Russian spies posed as Canadians in bid to penetrate Washington: US
The Canadian Press One of the best-known Soviet 'illegals' to have used a stolen Canadian identity as his cover for conducting espionage in the UK was Konon Molody (''Gordon Arnold Lonsdale''; 1922–1970).

References

External links

Canada-Russia Relations - Global Affairs Canada Canadian embassy in Moscow Russian embassy in OttawaCanadian and Russian federalism compared - Parliamentary Centre of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-Russia Relations 1992 in international relations

Bilateral relations of Russia