Chancellor Scholz relies on Canadian raw materials

Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Montreal at the start of his three-day visit to Canada Photo: Photo Alliance / The Associated Press

of BZ/DPA

During his three-day visit to Canada, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz seeks to expand cooperation with the world’s second largest country in the development of raw materials.

“The country has the same rich natural resources as Russia – with the difference that it is a credible democracy,” Scholz said Sunday evening (local time) after arriving in Montreal. “It opens up new areas of cooperation. We want to collaborate closely, especially when it comes to building the hydrogen economy.”

SPD politician Scholz visits Canada with Chancellor and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). The two will also be accompanied by a high-ranking business delegation. After arriving in Montreal, Scholz met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for dinner. Further political talks are planned between the two on Monday.

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During the visit, an agreement is to be signed on closer cooperation in the production and transportation of hydrogen. But it is also about the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany and the extraction of minerals and metals such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and graphite that are present in Canada and critical for the production of batteries.

Scholz emphasized that Germany has hardly any other country outside the European Union with close and friendly ties like Canada. “Not only do we share common values, we also share a common view of the world,” he said.

With an area of about one million square kilometres, Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia, but it is relatively sparsely populated with about 37 million inhabitants. The country is a partner of Germany in the G7 and NATO of economically sound democracies.