The Embassy of Sweden 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 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

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 ...

. The Swedish embassy in Canada represents the Swedish government in Canada and

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

. The embassy is located in

ByWard Market The ByWard Market (), is a retail and entertainment district in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located east of the government and business district. The Market district includes the market buildings and open-air market alo ...

in the

downtown core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with two integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buil ...

of the capital of Ottawa. Ambassador since 2023 is Signe Burgstaller. Sweden also has nine honorary consulates in Canada.

History

In August 1943, the Swedish government decided to establish a diplomatic mission in

and close the Consulate General of Sweden, Montreal. Consul General in Montreal Per Wijkman was appointed as the

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of Diplomatic rank#Special envoy, diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an au ...

to Ottawa. In March 1956, an agreement was reached between the Swedish and Canadian governments on the mutual elevation of the two countries' legations to embassies. In connection with this, on 16 March, the Swedish government appointed the newly appointed envoy there, Oscar Thorsing, as Sweden's ambassador in Ottawa.

Staff and tasks

The embassy serves as the official communication channel between the Swedish and Canadian governments, led by the Ambassador who represents Sweden in Canada. It monitors and reports on political, economic, and financial developments in Canada that impact bilateral relations. The embassy also acts as a Swedish public authority, handling consular and migration matters such as issuing passports, certificates, visas, and providing assistance to Swedes in emergencies. Additionally, the embassy promotes

Swedish culture The Culture of Sweden is characterised by its art, music, dance, literature, traditions, religious practices and more. It is similar to but distinct from the cultures of neighboring countries. Sweden's modern history has a well-established tradi ...

, trade, and research in Canada, working closely with

Business Sweden Business Sweden is a not-for-profit, strategy consultancy with a purpose to help Swedish companies grow their global sales and international companies to invest and expand in to Sweden. .The organisation has two owners: The Government of Sweden and ...

to enhance trade relations and support Swedish companies in navigating trade barriers and complex contracts in Canada. Sweden's presence is further supported by Honorary Consuls in several Canadian cities.

Buildings

Chancery

From 1943 to 1944, the

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

was located at the Chateau Laurier Hotel at 1

Rideau Street Rideau Street () is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier district. Ride ...

Downtown Ottawa Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes referred to as the Central Business District and contains Ottawa's financial district. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the east, ...

. In 1945, the chancery was located to a building next to the ambassadorial residence, at 720 Manor Avenue in

Rockcliffe Park Rockcliffe Park ( French: ''Parc Rockcliffe'') is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, close to the centre of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1864, organized as a Police village in 1908, and an independent village from 1926, and u ...

. 819 Coltrin Road was the location of the residence. In 1949, a legation office was opened at 1462

Bishop Street Bishop Street (officially in ) is a north–south street located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With a total length of 0.6 km, it links Sherbrooke Street in the north to René Lévesque Boulevard in the south. Like neighbouring Crescen ...

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 ...

. From 1950 to 1953, the legation office was located at

Bishop Court Apartments Bishop Court Apartments () is a historic apartment building in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1463 Bishop Street, at the corner of De Maisonneuve Boulevard, De Maisonneuve Boulevard West in Downtown Montreal. The apartment building is ...

on 1511 Bishop Street. In 1950, the chancery was still located at 720 Manor Avenue but the residence was located at 219 Coltrin Road in Rockcliffe Park. The years 1958–1964, the chancery was located in Suite 704 in the Victoria Building at 140 Wellington Street, opposite the

West Block The West Block (officially the Western Departmental Building; ) is one of the three buildings on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 28 January 2019, it has housed the interim House of Commons Chamber, installed to accommodate the House wh ...

building. In 1965 it moved to Suite 604 at the same address where it remained until 1979. The years 1980–1989, the embassy was located at 441 MacLaren Street in

Centretown Centretown is a neighbourhood in Somerset Ward, in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is defined by the city as "the area bounded on the north by Gloucester Street and Lisgar Street, on the east by the Rideau Canal, on the south by the Qu ...

. Since 1990, the embassy is located at 377 Dalhousie Street in

. File:Fairmont_Chateau_Laurier_(36191173260)_(cropped).jpg, Chateau Laurier Hotel,
(1943–1944) File:-4687 - 140 Wellington Street Victoria Building (8).jpg, Victoria Building, 140 Wellington Street
(1958–1979) File:Embassy_of_Sweden_in_Ottawa.jpg, 377 Dalhousie Street
(1990–present)

Residence

The ambassadorial residence is located at 700 Manor Avenue and was built in 1913. The architect was Allan Keefer. Keefer has designed many of buildings in the upscale

neighborhood. This house, then called "Raewood", he designed for his brother Thomas Coltin Keefer Jr. Thomas Keefer Jr. ran into financial difficulties and in 1919 he was forced to sell the property to James William Woods, who in turn sold it on to Gilbert Emilius Fauguier in 1920. The house was then named "Ardvar". The Fauguier family also built a house for their driver "Ardvar Cottage", which is still used as residence for embassy staff. In 1944, the Swedish state bought "Ardvar" from Gilbert Fauguier's widow. The house is located on a promontory above the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

. The house has two floors and a basement. It is built in solid red brick and the roof is clad with slate tiles. The building style is called Queen Anne Revival architecture and the house has a Flemish-inspired balustrade on the garden side facade. One is crowned with a large plastered pine cone. The residence has two main facades. One faces south, where there is the driveway and the entrance. The other to the north overlooks the river and Acacia Avenue, which you can reach through a gate. Previously, the tram passed by here with its own stop, which from the beginning was the Keefers family. The representation part of the house houses a hall, three lounges, a library, a large and small dining room, staff rooms, a kitchen and guest toilets. In the private part there are four bedrooms, living room, kitchen and three bathrooms. In 1986, the predecessor of the

National Property Board of Sweden The National Property Board of Sweden (, SFV) is a Swedish State administrative authority, organised under the Ministry of Finance. SFV is responsible for managing a portion of the real property assets owned by the State. The portfolio consists ...

, the National Swedish Board of Public Building (''Byggnadstyrelsen''), completed an extension. It included the large dining room and a laundry room in the basement as well as a wing with staff rooms and stairwells to the basement. At the same time, all bathrooms were modernized. The architect was the local architectural firm Murray & Murray Associates. Since then, the National Property Board of Sweden, has installed new boilers for city gas in 2001 and renovated the kitchen in 2005. In addition to the residence, there is the staff housing building with a private garden, two garages, garden storage and a gazebo on the site. In 1986, about 3,500 sqm was cut off of the plot and sold. The garden is park-like. Today it covers about 19,000 sqm.

History

Staff and tasks

Buildings

Chancery

Residence

See also

Footnotes

References

External links