Trade, gas and looking for friends: Minister for Europe Caroline Edstadler was in Ottawa to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Austria and Canada. She made a commitment to a strong transatlantic bond.

Diplomatic relations between Austria and Canada have existed for over 70 years. For Caroline Edstadler, Austria’s federal minister for the European Union and the Constitution, it was the occasion of a short visit to Toronto and Ottawa. “In these times with their global challenges, it is important to strengthen bilateral and transatlantic ties between Europe, Austria and Canada,” the minister said in an interview with the “Press” in Ottawa.

Official Austria-Canadian relations date back to 1855, prior to the establishment of Canada in 1867. At that time, Austria opened an honorary consulate in Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia) in Halifax, then a British colony, “defined to protect Austria’s maritime interests”. A Consulate General in Ottawa in 1949 In 1952, the Council of Ministers decided to establish the first diplomatic representation in Ottawa and thereby establish diplomatic relations with Canada.