Canada and Latvia have long-standing foreign relations. During the 1920s, Canada helped Lithuania gain their independence with their victory in the war over the Baltics in Lithuania. Canada never recognized the Soviet Union's annexation of Latvia and re-recognized Latvia's independence on August 26, 1991.
Both countries are full members of the OSCE and of NATO.
Canada never recognized the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States and was the first country of the G7 to recognize Latvia's Independence. On 28 March 2003, Canada was the first country to ratify Latvia's accession in NATO. The presence of a significant and active Latvian-Canadian community (estimated at 22,600) also underpins the bilateral relationship.
The Speaker of Latvian Parliament (Saeima) Gundars Daudze led a parliamentary delegation to Canada in May 2008. Canadian Minister of International Trade Stockwell Day visited Latvia in May 2009. The Speaker of the Senate of Canada Noël A. Kinsella visited Latvia in January 2010.
In March 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Latvia and met with Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš and President Egils Levits. The meeting reinforced Canada’s commitment to NATO in solidarity with European allies and partners in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Prime Ministers of Canada, Latvia, and Spain, and the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also visited with the troops of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group at Camp Ādaži in Latvia.[1] [2]