State visit to Canada

Topic: Report

23 September 2014

Federal President Joachim Gauck was in Canada on a state visit from 24 to 27 September, accompanied by his partner, Daniela Schadt. He visited Toronto and Québec as well as the capital city, Ottawa.The four-day trip focused on the two countries’ friendly relations and close German-Canadian and transatlantic cooperation, especially in such wider contexts as NATO, the G8 and the United Nations. A further focus of the visit was on intensive business and research cooperation between Germany and Canada.

Federal President Joachim Gauck is received with military honours in Ottawa by David Lloyd Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada

Federal President Joachim Gauck was in Canada on a state visit from 24 to 27 September, accompanied by his partner, Daniela Schadt. He visited Toronto and Québec as well as the capital city, Ottawa.

The four-day trip focused on the two countries’ friendly relations and close German-Canadian and transatlantic cooperation, especially in such wider contexts as NATO, the G8 and the United Nations. To that end, the Federal President was not only be meeting Canada’s Governor General, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and representatives of government and parliament at the federal and provincial levels, but also talking to people from the spheres of business, science and research. At the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, the Federal President gave a speech commemorating the outbreak of the First World War 100 years ago.

A further focus of the visit was on intensive business and research cooperation between Germany and Canada: the agenda included events at research and innovation centres and a tour of a German company in Canada. The Federal President was accompanied by a high-level business delegation.

In Toronto, Federal President Gauck took part in a panel discussion on immigration and integration on 26 September, to discuss the experience of immigration in the context of the immigration-rich Canada’s successful integration policy.