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Taoiseach on official visit to Canada
The Taoiseach and Prime Minister Trudeau at a bilateral meeting
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar today began a three day official visit to Canada. The visit commenced with a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau in Montreal.
On invitation of the Canadian Prime Minister, the Taoiseach then joined Mr Trudeau at the Montreal Pride Parade.
The Taoiseach attends Montreal Pride with Prime Minister Trudeau
Tomorrow, the Taoiseach will be in Toronto to carry out a number of engagements aimed at growing trade, tourism and investment opportunities between Ireland and Canada. Bilateral trade between Ireland and Canada is worth more than €2.75 billion per year. The Taoiseach will also take the opportunity to be briefed on customs arrangements at the US/Canadian border.
Speaking ahead of the visit, the Taoiseach said:
The CETA trade deal between Canada and the EU comes into effect on a provisional basis in September and so it is timely for me to visit Canada to meet with Prime Minister Trudeau and deepen the important bilateral relationship between our two countries.
The Government is determined to expand our markets overseas, so we can increase job opportunities and create a Republic of Opportunity at home. Over 4.5 million Canadians claim Irish ancestry, so as well as meeting with business leaders to I also look forward to meeting with members of the Irish community in both Montreal and Toronto and representatives of the emigrant support services who work on their behalf.