Bilateral relations

The Australia-Canada relationship is mature, productive and broadly based. People-to-people contacts between our parliaments, government agencies, private sectors, academics and communities are extensive and wide-ranging. We are both large countries with geographically dispersed population centres and many small and remote communities. We both have diverse populations including Indigenous communities with rich historical and cultural heritage.  We are also both federations of states and territories and share Westminster systems of government and a similar standard of living.

Trade relations date from 1895, when the Government of Canada sent its first Trade Commissioner, John Short Larke, to Sydney to establish an office. Diplomatic relations began formally in 1939 when, on the eve of the Second World War, Australia and Canada first agreed to exchange High Commissioners.

Australian and Canadian military forces fought side-by-side in the Sudan War, Boer War, both World Wars, the Korean War, the 1990-91 Gulf War and Afghanistan. They have cooperated on peacekeeping operations, including Canada's contribution of over 600 troops to the Australian-led mission in Timor-Leste (East Timor) in 1999. Australia and Canada were among the first countries to join the global coalition against terrorism, and both countries committed development resources to stabilise and help rebuild Afghanistan and Iraq. Australia and Canada work closely to counter potential global terrorist threats through technical cooperation, information-sharing, exchanges of personnel and joint training.

Today, both countries face comparable public policy challenges in areas such as health, transport, Indigenous issues, regional development, managing the effects of the global economic crisis and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canada-Australia Public Policy Initiative (CAPPI), launched by Prime Ministers Howard and Harper in 2007, brings together Australian and Canadian senior officials biennially for wide-ranging public policy discussions. At any time, there are a number of public servants placed in Australian and Canadian ministries on exchange.

Australia and Canada share a common interest in promoting the rules-based international system and the pursuit of an Indo-Pacific region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous. We welcome opportunities to progress shared objectives on climate change, democracy, human rights, gender equality, rules-based trade and multilateralism.

A comprehensive range of bilateral agreements cover issues such as trade, space cooperation, social security, air services, wildfire management, emergency management and consular services abroad, co-location of our missions overseas, mutual assistance in criminal matters and avoidance of double taxation. Consular cooperation is important, with Canada and Australia providing consular services to each other's nationals in around 30 countries where the other is not represented.

The Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations was launched on 15 February 2021; Australia joined more than 55 international partners to endorse the Canadian initiative.

Canada, Australia and New Zealand have a history of working together in the United Nations (UN) on issues ranging from security to development to human rights, including through an informal grouping known as CANZ. Canada, like Australia, is an active member of the Commonwealth.

During then-Foreign Minister Bishop's visit to Canada in July 2015, she signed with her Canadian counterpart Foreign Minister Nicholson the Glasgow-Burchell Declaration on diplomatic cooperation, with both Ministers characterising the Declaration as symbolic of the closeness of our relationship. The agreement establishes a formal framework for cooperation and identifies areas in which Australia and Canada might collaborate and cooperate more closely.

Development Cooperation

Australia has a close and productive development partnership with Canada. In April 2015, DFAT entered into a new Partnership Arrangement on International Development with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), which has subsequently been renamed Global Affairs Canada. The Partnership Arrangement reaffirms our commitment to work in a harmonised way when delivering programs together, and provides a renewed framework for dialogue and cooperation between the two departments.

The Partnership Arrangement outlines Australia and Canada's shared objectives in development and priorities for cooperation, including sustainable economic growth (for example, through innovation, leveraging private sector finance, aid for trade and infrastructure development), global health issues, gender equality and coordination on global development policy agendas.

People to people links

People to people links are strong and diverse despite geographic distance. Australia is home to over 50,000 Canadian-born people, and almost 47,000 Canadian residents come from Australia. A working holiday program allows young people to travel and work for set periods in each other's country. Tourism links are strong and growing.

Of particular note, educational links continue to grow with Universities Australia's 2020 International links data identifying 346 agreements between Australian universities and vocational providers and Canadian institutions covering student and apprentice exchanges, and academic and research collaboration. There are more than 130 members of the Association for Canadian Studies in Australia and New Zealand. Many Canadian students are enrolled in higher education programmes in Australia each year, most studying in the fields of medicine, health and the sciences. A number of Australian universities deliver Australian qualifications in Canada, including Charles Sturt University which has an offshore campus in Burlington, Ontario. During a visit to Canada in 2015, then-Foreign Minister Bishop and her counterpart, Foreign Minister Nicholson, witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Universities Australia and Mitacs, a Canadian not-for-profit research and training organisation, which allows Australian undergraduate students to participate in an elite research internship program in Canada for the first time. The agreement was renewed in 2022 and expanded to include master’s and PhD students and postdoctoral fellows.

Economic Overview

Like Australia, Canada has a low population density and a vast wealth of natural resources. The Canadian economy was the ninth biggest economy in the world by GDP (USD billions, current prices) in 2023 (according to the World Bank GDP ranking, July 2024). Australia was ranked 13th. Canada is highly integrated with the US economy, with each being the other's major trading partner.

As export-oriented economies with strong interests in agriculture and resources, Australia and Canada have a common interest in a rules-based, open and non-discriminatory world trade system. Both countries were prominent players in the formation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947, and today both are active and influential members of its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO). Canada and Australia have had a free trade agreement in place since 30 December 2018, when the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) entered into force for Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore. The CPTPP is the first modern, high-quality FTA between Canada and Australia.

Australia and Canada work closely together to promote a coherent and robust system of global trade and economic cooperation in key international organisations such as the G20, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Cairns Group in the WTO and in many UN agencies. Canada joined APEC in its inaugural year (1989) and Vancouver hosted APEC in 1997.

Trade and investment

Total two-way trade in goods and services amounted to around $10.7 billion in 2023.

Top performing goods exports in 2023 were aluminium and other ores (including alumina), and non-ferrous waste. The top three goods imports from Canada in the same period were gold, agricultural machinery and parts, and medicaments (including veterinary).

Services trade was mainly in recreational and education-related travel, and professional, technical and other business services. Though Canada's trade regime is generally liberal and transparent, tariff peaks and other distorting trade mechanisms apply to domestically sensitive agricultural sectors such as dairy and poultry. Tariff rates can be found on the APEC Tariff Database.

Investment ties are substantial. At the end of 2023, Australian investment in Canada was valued at $109 billion. This places Canada as the fifth most popular destination for Australia's total outwards investment. Canadian investment in Australia was valued at $104 billion at the end of 2023. Canada is Australia's eighth largest source of investment.

Austrade has offices in Toronto and Vancouver to pursue Australia's trade and investment priorities.

Information on doing business and opportunities in Canada

Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum

Formed in 2010, the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum (AusCan Forum) brings together government, public and private sector players to contribute to the development of the bilateral relationship. It is modelled on similar gatherings Australia has with its closest political and economic partners, notably the Australian American Leadership Dialogue. The most recent Forum was held in Toronto in July 2023. Sydney will host the next forum expected in the first half of 2025. Previous Forums have been held in Sydney (February 2017 and November 2010), Toronto (July 2012), Melbourne (February 2020 and February 2014), Vancouver (July 2015), and Montreal (July 2018).

Chamber of Commerce

The Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce (CACC) was launched on 20 October 2005. The Chamber is an independent, non-profit organisation that aims to contribute to increasing the level of trade and investment between Australia and Canada. Membership is free of charge to interested parties.

High-level visits

There have been frequent high-level visits, including:

To Australia

• February 2017: Then-Minister of International Trade, the Hon François-Philippe Champagne, for the Australia–Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Sydney
• March 2016: Then-Defence Minister the Hon Harjit Sajjan
• February 2014: Then-Foreign Minister the Hon John Baird and then-Finance Minister The Hon Jim Flaherty for the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum
• July 2014: Then-Trade Minister the Hon Ed Fast for the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting
• November 2014: Then-Prime Minister the Rt Hon Stephen Harper for the G20 Summit
• April 2012: Then-Trade Minister Fast
• October 2011: Then-Prime Minister Harper and then-Foreign Minister Baird for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
• September 2011: Then-Defence Minister the Hon Peter MacKay
• September 2010: Then-Immigration Minister the Hon Jason Kenney
• September 2007: Then-Prime Minister Harper (when he became the first Canadian prime minister to address the Australian parliament)

To Canada

• August 2024: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP
• March 2024: Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, the Hon Madeleine King, for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto and the Annual International Mines Ministers Summit
• January 2024: Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Government Services, the Hon Bill Shorten
• July 2023: Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus and Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, the Hon Kristy McBain, for the Australia–Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Toronto
• December 2022: Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek, for the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal
• October 2018: Then-Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, for a meeting of the Canada-led initiative on WTO reform
• September 2017: Then-Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Hon Dan Tehan, representing the Australian Government at the Invictus Games in Toronto
• July 2015: Then-Foreign Minister the Hon Julie Bishop for the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Vancouver
• February-March 2015: Then-Trade and Investment Minister the Hon Andrew Robb and mining-focused business delegation including indigenous representatives (for the 2015 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention). Minister Robb also attended the 2015 Vancouver International Wine Festival (Australia was the feature country)
• June 2014: Then-Prime Minister the Hon Tony Abbott and then Trade and Investment Minister the Hon Andrew Robb and business delegation
• April 2013: Then-Governor-General, HE the Hon Quentin Bryce
• July 2012: Then-Minister for Resources, the Hon Martin Ferguson for the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Toronto
• June 2012: Then-Minister for Family and Community Services, the Hon Jenny Macklin and then-Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Jason Clare
• September 2011: Then-Minister for Trade, the Hon Craig Emerson
• June 2010: Then-Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan for the Toronto G20 Summit