 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2019) |
Canadian High Commissions are Canadian diplomatic missions in the capitals of Commonwealth states. High Commissions are the equivalent of embassies in non-Commonwealth states. [1]
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2019) |
Canadian High Commissions are Canadian diplomatic missions in the capitals of Commonwealth states. High Commissions are the equivalent of embassies in non-Commonwealth states. [1]
The Dominion of Canada and the colonies which preceded it had effectively engaged in diplomacy with Britain, particularly to promote their interests in immigration and economic matters, despite not being sovereign states. In 1868, the Canadian Parliament sent Sir John Rose, 1st Baronet, as a "quasi-official representative" to Britain, and in 1878, with its growing political interests, Canada requested to send a full-time "resident minister to London" to engage in diplomacy with the British government. The Colonial Office was amenable but felt that Canada's subordinate position in the British Empire precluded diplomatic status [lower-alpha 1] and the diplomatic title "minister", and after some correspondence, Britain agreed to Canada's request for the title of "high commissioner", chosen to ensure that foreign governments understood its holder's importance. Alexander Tilloch Galt was the first to hold the position (1880–1883). [2]
Canada's example was followed by other dominions of the British Empire and by 1918 they each had a high commissioner in London. Following the First World War, most of the dominions became founding members of the League of Nations and entitled to send diplomatic ambassadors to non-Commonwealth states. [2] At Canada's suggestion, Britain sent a high commissioner to Canada in 1928, taking over much of the governor general's responsibilities. [2] Canada exchanged high commissioners with other dominions during the second word war, and afterwards with the newly-independent states of South Asia. [lower-alpha 2] However, there was little engagement with the other dominions and the high commissioners perceived themselves to have inferior status to Canada's ambassadors, eight of whom were posted by 1945. [2] In 1948, members of the Commonwealth of Nations were established as "free and equal" and high commissioners gained equal status with ambassadors. [2] In 1951, Canada began styling high commissioners as "excellency", and in 1954 granted diplomatic immunity to high commissioners. [2]
The following Australian High Commissions in Oceania provide consular services to Canadian citizens under the Canada–Australia Consular Services Sharing Agreement:
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes an embassy or high commission, which is the main office of a country's diplomatic representatives to another country; it is usually, but not necessarily, based in the receiving state's capital city. Consulates, on the other hand, are smaller diplomatic missions that are normally located in major cities of the receiving state. As well as being a diplomatic mission to the country in which it is situated, an embassy may also be a nonresident permanent mission to one or more other countries.
A letter of credence is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to another, asking them to give credence to the ambassador's claim of speaking for their country. The letter is presented personally by the ambassador-designate to the receiving head of state in a formal ceremony, marking the beginning of the ambassadorship.
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state that has Charles III as its monarch and head of state. All the realms are equal with and independent of the others, though one person, resident in the United Kingdom, acts as monarch of each. The phrase Commonwealth realm is an informal description not used in any law.
Global Affairs Canada is the department of the Government of Canada that manages Canada's diplomatic and consular relations, promotes Canadian international trade, and leads Canada's international development and humanitarian assistance. It is also responsible for maintaining Canadian government offices abroad with diplomatic and consular status on behalf of all government departments.
Tonga, by a modification of its treaty of friendship with the United Kingdom in July 1970, is responsible for its own external affairs. It maintains cordial relations with most countries and has close relations with its Pacific neighbours and the United Kingdom. In 1998, it recognized the People's Republic of China and broke relations with Taiwan.
Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings at state dinners, the person to whom diplomatic credentials should be presented, and the title by which the diplomat should be addressed.
A British High Commission is a British diplomatic mission, equivalent to an embassy, found in countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Their general purpose is to provide diplomatic relationships as well as travel information, passports, dual-citizenship information, and other services between Commonwealth states.
A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country, usually an embassy. The term "consulate" may refer not only to the office of a consul, but also to the building occupied by the consul and the consul's staff. The consulate may share premises with the embassy itself.
In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat, generally ranking as an ambassador, in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. Instead of an embassy, the diplomatic mission is generally called a high commission.
The Bahamas has a strong bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom, represented by a High Commissioner in London. The Bahamas also associates closely with other nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
A dominion was any of several largely self-governing countries of the British Empire. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governance increased unevenly over the late 19th century through the 1930s, and some vestiges of empire lasted in some areas into the late 20th century. With the evolution of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations, the dominions became independent states, either as commonwealth republics or commonwealth realms.
The High Commission of Barbados in London is the diplomatic mission of Barbados in the United Kingdom. Among the initial diplomatic missions to be established by Barbados after the attainment of independence from Britain, the office was initially located at 28 Cockspur Street where it shared a joint mission with Guyana. In the early 1970s the mission relocated to 6 Upper Belgrave Street, London. Barbados' High Commission remained at that location until the mid 1980s when it moved to its present location at the corner of 1 Great Russell Street in London's Bloomsbury neighbourhood.
The British High Commission Canberra is the diplomatic mission of the Government of the United Kingdom to Australia, representing the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom's interests. It is located on Commonwealth Avenue along with the High Commissions of New Zealand and Canada in the Canberra suburb of Yarralumla. The current British High Commissioner is Vicki Treadell who was appointed in 2019.