Canada and Greece first exchanged ambassadors in 1942. Both countries are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, NATO and the United Nations. There is a strong Greek community living in Canada.
Greek immigration to Canada began in 1843 when Greek migrants began arriving and settling in Montreal. By 1941, over 5,000 Greek migrants resided in Canada.[1] During World War II both nations fought alongside each other during the Italian Campaign. In 1942, Canada established diplomatic relations with the Greek government-in-exile.[2] Soon afterwards, the two nations opened diplomatic missions in each other's respective capitals.
Today, over 243,000 Canadians claim Greek descent.[3] In 2012, both nations celebrated 70 years since the establishment of mutual diplomatic relations.
Canada's main exports to Greece are paper, furs, machinery, vegetables, aircraft and pharmaceutical products. Canadian merchandise imports from Greece include preserved food products, aluminium, fats and oils, and fertilizers.Greece's business community with relations to Canada and Canadian companies operating in Greece set up the Hellenic-Canadian Chamber of Commerce in 1996, whose mission is to foster the development of business relations between the two countries in trade, finance, services and investments.
Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Greece reached $303 million CAD in 2014. Canadian exports to Greece totaled $117 million CAD, led by furs, vegetables and pharmaceutical products. Greek exports to Canada totaled $186 million CAD in 2014, led by food products, fats, oil (not crude) and iron/steel.