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 Belgium |  Canada |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Belgian Embassy, Ottawa | Canadian Embassy, Brussels |
| Envoy | |
| Raoul Roger Delcorde | Olivier Nicoloff |
Belgium and Canada are close allies. Both have a stance of multilateralism and are members of NATO and Francophonie. The two nations have official bilingualism (with French being one of the official languages), and similar federal government systems owing in part to language tensions in both. Both were actively involved in the war in Afghanistan under ISAF.
A few Belgians came to New France before 1759. In the mid-19th century there were enough arrivals to open part-time consulates in Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax. After 1859 the main attraction was free farm land. After 1867 the national government gave immigrants from Belgium a preferred status, and encouraged emigration to the Francophone Catholic communities of Quebec and Manitoba. Edouard Simaeys became a part-time paid Canadian agent in Belgium to publicize opportunities in Canada and facilitate immigration. The steamship companies prepared their own brochures and offered inexpensive package deals to farm families. By 1898 there was a full-time Canadian office in Antwerp which provided pamphlets, lectures and specific travel advice. By 1906 some 2000 Belgians a year were arriving, most with skills in agriculture. A third wave of immigration took place after 1945, with urban areas the destination. The 1961 census counted 61,000 Canadians of Belgian ancestry. [1]
To provide financial support to Belgian immigrants suffering setbacks, the Société belge de bienfaisance was established in 1921 in Montréal. In 1936–7, it was merged into the newly founded Association Belgique-Canada. [2] The association's level of activity has fluctuated over the years, being more active in the 1940s, less so in the 1970s. [3] The last recorded AGM took place in 2011. [4]
Belgian immigration to western Canada in the late 19th and early 20th century attracted the attention of the Belgian government. It enacted laws and regulations to protect the emigrants and guarantee adequate shipboard conditions. Provision was made to assist emigrants who decided to return to Belgium. Starting in the 1860s consular officials made on-site visits to inspect conditions in Canada, which eagerly welcomed the new arrivals. The Catholic Church was likewise welcoming, and a number of priests immigrated. The Walloon immigrants discovered they could continue to speak French in Canada, while the Flemish quickly learned English. The Belgians formed no national organization on their behalf. Some settled in towns such as St. Boniface, Manitoba, but most became farmers who specialized in dairy farming, sugar beets and market gardening. After 1920 there was a move to western Alberta, with an economy based on ranching, horse breeding, and sugar beets. [5]
During the First World War, a realignment of the great powers made allies of Canada, which was part of the British Empire, and Belgium.
Some of the Canadian Expeditionary Force spent the First World War on Belgian soil and helped Belgium to repel the German invasion. It was in Belgium, at Mont Sorrel, that one of the most famous battles in Canadian history took place.
In the Second World War, Canada and Belgium were initially allies against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. In November 1944, as a consequence of Operation Overlord, the Belgian port of Zeebrugge was liberated from the Germans by Canada's 12th Manitoba Dragoons, and a memorial commemorates the event.
Belgium has an embassy in Ottawa, one consulate (in Montreal, the consulate in Toronto was closed in 2014), and four honorary consulates (in Edmonton, Halifax, Vancouver and Winnipeg) located in Canada. Belgium's three regions (Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels) each have their own offices in the Montreal consulate. Wallonia also has a second office in the Toronto consulate, which also represents Flanders and Brussels.
Canada maintains an embassy in Brussels (which also covers Luxembourg). Canada also has a consulate in Antwerp, and Quebec maintains its own separate delegation in Brussels. The Canadian delegations to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are located in Belgium, as Belgium houses the headquarters of each. Luxembourg is often dealt with in tandem to Belgium.
Belgium and Canada are member states of a variety of international organizations. They include: the United Nations, NATO, La Francophonie, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. [6]
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Bilateral investment in 2006 was $5.9 billion. Luxembourg included, the total rises to $8.4 billion. Belgium exported a total $2.35 billion in 2006 in goods. Belgian exports include fuels, diamonds and mineral oils, vehicles, machinery and pharmaceutical products. The same year Canada exported $2.84 billion in goods. Canadian exports include diamonds, nickel, machinery, oil and zinc. Belgium was Canada's 5th biggest export destination within the EU during that year. Antwerp is one of the main ports of entry for Canadian goods to the EU.
Belgian and Canadian universities have many partnerships. More than 20 Canadian universities partner with their Belgian counterparts in an array of fields ranging from health to social sciences.
Transport in Belgium is facilitated with well-developed road, air, rail and water networks. The rail network has 2,950 km (1,830 mi) of electrified tracks. There are 118,414 km (73,579 mi) of roads, among which there are 1,747 km (1,086 mi) of motorways, 13,892 km (8,632 mi) of main roads and 102,775 km (63,861 mi) of other paved roads. There is also a well-developed urban rail network in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Charleroi. The ports of Antwerp and Bruges-Zeebrugge are two of the biggest seaports in Europe. Brussels Airport is Belgium's biggest airport.
The economy of Belgium is a highly developed, high-income, mixed economy.
Articles related to Belgium include:
The diplomatic relations between Canada and the French Republic are friendly, the importance of which centres on the history of French immigration to Canada. Canadians of French heritage make up the majority of native speakers of French in Canada, who in turn account for about 22 percent of the country's total population. The small French Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is situated off the coast of Atlantic Canada.
In Belgium, the French Community refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which is controversial because its name in the Belgian constitution has not changed and because it is seen as a political statement. The name "French Community" refers to Francophone Belgians, and not to French people residing in Belgium. As such, the French Community of Belgium is sometimes rendered in English as "the French-speaking Community of Belgium" for clarity, in analogy to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
The Flemish Region, usually simply referred to as Flanders, is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch-speaking. With an area of 13,626 km2 (5,261 sq mi), it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 58% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 500/km2 (1,300/sq mi).
Belgians are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural rather than ethnic. The majority of Belgians, however, belong to two distinct linguistic groups or communities native to the country, i.e. its historical regions: Flemings in Flanders, who speak Dutch, West Flemish and Limburgish; and Walloons in Wallonia, who speak French or Walloon. There is also a substantial Belgian diaspora, which has settled primarily in the United States, Canada, France, and the Netherlands.
The Quebec Government Offices are the Government of Quebec's official representations outside of Canada. They are overseen by Quebec's Ministry of International Relations.
The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German.
Belgium–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, Belgium and Russia. Russia has an embassy in Brussels and a consulate-general in Antwerp, whilst Belgium has an embassy in Moscow and a Consulate General in Saint Petersburg.
Ties between Canada and Lebanon date back to the Ottoman Empire; however, formal bilateral relations were first established in 1954. Canada is home to one of the largest Lebanese diaspora communities. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the United Nations.
Armenians in Belgium are citizens of Belgium of Armenian ancestry. The exact number of Armenians in the country is unknown, but is unofficially estimated to be about 40,000.
Belgian–Turkish relations are foreign relations between Belgium and Turkey. Belgium has an embassy in Ankara, a consulate–general in Istanbul and two consulates in Antalya and İzmir. Turkey has an embassy in Brussels and a consulate–general in Antwerp.
Croats of Belgium are an ethnic group in Belgium. About 10,000 Belgians stated that they have Croatian roots, according to the Croatian associations and Catholic missions. They appeared in Belgium for the first time during the Thirty Years' War, as a part of Austrian and French cavalry. Even today, the exact number of Croats in Belgium is unknown, mostly because they were considered as Yugoslavs by Belgian government. During the last years, number of Croats in Belgium is increasing because of immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The number of Croats didn't pass the number of 10,000 since the World War II when Croatia was part of a larger country Yugoslavia.
Despite being neutral at the start of World War II, Belgium and its colonial possessions found themselves at war after the country was invaded by German forces on 10 May 1940. After 18 days of fighting in which Belgian forces were pushed back into a small pocket in the north-west of the country, the Belgian military surrendered to the Germans, beginning an occupation that would endure until 1944. The surrender of 28 May was ordered by King Leopold III without the consultation of his government and sparked a political crisis after the war. Despite the capitulation, many Belgians managed to escape to the United Kingdom where they formed a government and army-in-exile on the Allied side.
Belgian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Belgian ancestry or Belgium-born people who reside in Canada. According to the 2011 census there were 176,615 Canadians who claimed full or partial Belgian ancestry. It encompasses immigrants from both French and Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium.
Moroccans and people of Moroccan descent, who come from various ethnic groups, form a distinct community in Belgium and part of the wider Moroccan diaspora. They represent the largest non-European immigrant population in Belgium and are widely referred to as Belgo-Marocains in French and Belgische Marokkanen in Dutch.
Belgian heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in the Kingdom of Belgium and the Belgian colonial empire but also in the historical territories that make up modern-day Belgium. Today, coats of arms in Belgium are regulated and granted by different bodies depending on the nature, status, and location of the armiger.
Canada and the Dominican Republic established bilateral relations in 1954. Both nations are members of the Organization of American States and the United Nations.
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