Canada-Netherlands relations
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Bilateral relations
The Canada-Netherlands bilateral relationship, rooted in a shared World War II history, is dynamic and forward-looking. We benefit from mutual commercial, security and foreign policy interests, which flow from our common commitment to multilateralism, free and inclusive trade, innovation, and the rules-based international order. Our citizens have significant person-to-person ties, underpinned by immigration past and present.
An important link with Canada’s storied military heritage
The Canadian Forces spearheaded the Liberation of the Netherlands during World War II. Canada gave refuge to the Dutch Royal Family during the War and Princess Margriet was born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The Royal Family gifted Canada a multitude of tulip bulbs in recognition of these wartime links. This was the genesis of Ottawa’s well-known Canadian Tulip Festival, which sees millions of tulips blossom annually across the Capital in recognition of the ties between our countries.
Significant people-to-people links
About one million people of Dutch origin now reside in Canada, representing 3 percent of the Canadian population. In recognition of our close bond, Canada celebrates Dutch Heritage Day on 5 May, which is Liberation Day in the Netherlands.
Recent high-level visits
The Speaker of the Senate, Raymonde Gagné, and fellow parliamentarians travelled to the Netherlands from May 17 to 20, 2026, where they undertook parliamentary engagements and held a courtesy meeting with Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Tom Berendsen.
Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet, “the Canadian Princess”, visited Ottawa in May 2026. She met with Prime Minister Mark Carney and had engagements with the Minister of Veteran Affairs, Jill McKnight.
Minister of National Defence David McGuinty met with then-Dutch Minister of Defence, Ruben Brekelmans on the margins of the February 2026 NATO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels, where they signed a Joint Vision Statement on the Enhancement of Bilateral Defence Cooperation.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with then-Prime Minister Dick Schoof on June 24, 2025, in The Hague, on the margins of the NATO Summit. The leaders discussed opportunities to bolster economic co-operation across key sectors, including critical minerals and defence.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand met with her then-Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, in The Hague, on June 25, 2025, and Minister of National Defence David McGuinty also met with then-Dutch Minister of Defence, Ruben Brekelmans, on the same day.
The Governor General Mary Simon travelled to the Netherlands on May 4 and 5, 2025, to attend events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. She met with then-Prime Minister Dick Schoof, with Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, and had an audience with King Willem-Alexander.
Diplomatic representation
Canada is represented in the Kingdom of the Netherlands by its Embassy in The Hague, which is also accredited to the Dutch Caribbean constituent countries of Sint Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao and the special municipalities of Saba, Sint Eustasius and Bonaire. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has an Embassy in Ottawa, Consulates-general in Toronto and Vancouver, and honorary consuls in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montréal, Québec City, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
Trade relations
The Netherlands is one of Canada’s most significant trade, investment and innovation partners. It is a country with a deep history of commerce, representing a gateway to Europe across the spectrum of trade, investment, and technology exchange. The Netherlands has developed a very strong transport logistics infrastructure built around the port of Rotterdam (the largest outside of Asia) and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The country has a highly cosmopolitan, well-educated and diverse workforce and is in an advantageous geographic position within Europe and the European Union.
Canadian-Dutch merchandise trade is relatively balanced and complementary. In 2025, Canada exported $9.5 billion in goods to the Netherlands making it the largest export market within the European Union and reflecting an impressive 34% increase from 2024, while imports from the Netherlands totaled $4.4 billion.
In 2024, Canada’s services exports to the Netherlands were valued at $2.2 billion while services imported from the Netherlands to Canada were valued at $2.5 billion.
In 2025, direct investment from the Netherlands in Canada was $182.9 billion, up 3.5% from 2024 accounting for 11.4% of the total direct investment in Canada. The same year, Canadian direct investment in the Netherlands was $91.0 billion, up 9.8% from 2024 and accounting for 3.7% of the total Canadian direct investment abroad.
Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service works with Canadian companies exporting to the Netherlands; assists Dutch companies investing in Canada; and supports science, technology, and innovation partnerships.
The provisional application of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) started on September 21, 2017. The Netherlands ratified CETA in July 2022. Since CETA entered into force, Canada-Netherlands bilateral merchandise trade had increased 113% by value above pre-CETA levels based on StatsCan data. In 2025, CETA utilization between Canada and the Netherlands ranked among the highest in the EU, with Canadian exporters using 88% of available preferences and Dutch exporters 73%.
A Science, Technology and Innovation Partnership Agreement, and a bilateral Hydrogen Memorandum of Understanding, provide frameworks for further expanding commercial collaboration.
Related links
The Hague and International Legal Institutions
The Hague – known as the “City of Peace and Justice” – has long been synonymous with international legal institutions, the rule of law, and accountability for the most serious international crimes. In 1899, the Permanent Court of Arbitration was established to help resolve international disputes, and The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 were among the first international treaties addressing the laws of war and war crimes. The Hague is home to the policing institution, Europol, and to the European justice institution, Eurojust, as well as many prominent international courts, tribunals, and legal mechanisms including:
- International Court of Justice (ICJ)
- International Criminal Court (ICC)
- The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)
- International Commission on Missing Persons
- International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)
- Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (KSC)
- Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
- Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL)
- Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (RD4U)
Canada supports these institutions and their important work to strengthen peaceful methods of conflict resolution, to bolster international efforts to end impunity, and to promote respect for human rights, good governance, multilateral efforts to combat atrocity crimes, and international law as a basis upon which States work to resolve disputes. Canada played a pivotal role to establish the International Criminal Court in 2002 and continues to contribute to its development and functioning.
The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) implements the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) to which Canada is a State Party, along with over 190 other countries. The CWC bans the development, use, stockpiling and transfer of chemical weapons, promotes accountability for their use, and monitors production of chemicals and their trade for legitimate purposes. The OPCW won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons, and in 2023, the OPCW verified the complete destruction of the world’s declared chemical weapons stockpiles. Canada’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW is our Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Canada has shown significant financial, human and intellectual leadership in building international stability, peaceful cooperation, and rule of law, including through support to these international organisations based in The Hague. Our strong bilateral partnership with the host country also helps to develop and sustain these institutions.
Canada is proud of the many Canadians who serve the cause of disarmament and non-proliferation, international justice and accountability through their important work at the international organisations, courts and tribunals located in The Hague.
Partnerships and organizations
The Netherlands is a strong international partner and ally for Canada. We are like-minded across a broad spectrum of issues, including our common commitment to human rights, multilateralism, the rules-based international order, and gender equality.
The Dutch are well-regarded multilateral players alongside Canada in the UN, NATO, OSCE, and at the various international institutions headquartered in The Hague. We also share mutually beneficial partnerships and perspectives with the Dutch on security, intelligence and rule of law issues. Our cooperation in support of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 is but one important example. Our interests also converge in the Americas, where the Kingdom of the Netherlands – which includes the constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten and special municipalities of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire – is a neighbour and friend.
To develop effective responses to today’s most pressing global challenges, Canada and the Netherlands work closely in multilateral fora and instruments, such as:
- Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
- International Criminal Court (ICC)
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- Open Government Partnership (OGP)
- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
- United Nations (UN)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
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