The King will make his first trip to Canada this week, with a strong economic and cultural focus

Eduardo González King Felipe VI will travel to Canada this week accompanied by the First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, as reported this Thursday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The trip, which will take place on May 19, 20, and 21, will begin in Ottawa, where the King will meet with the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, and attend an official dinner in her honor. He will then travel to Toronto, where he will participate in the Spain-Canada Business Day and a meeting with senior executives and investors from both countries. Around 170 Spanish and Canadian businesspeople have already registered for this business forum. In addition, the King will meet with more than 20 Canadian companies with investments or potential investments in Spain. Besides Carlos Cuerpo, the King will also be accompanied by the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla. Bilateral trade between Spain and Canada is rather modest, with barely €7 billion in exchanges. Canada accounts for 0.6 percent of Spanish exports and 0.7 percent of our country's imports. In addition, there is a significant presence of Spanish companies in Canada in the renewable energy sector, mainly wind power (Acciona, EDP Renovables), as well as in the industrial and extractive sectors (Técnicas Reunidas, Duro Felguera, Cepsa, Dragados, Prodesa). Regarding the presence of Canadian companies in Spain, the extractive industries sector, primarily mining, and major pension funds stand out. In 2024, gross Canadian investment in Spain reached €438 million, placing the country fifteenth in direct investment in Spain. The King will also receive the Spanish community at Victoria College in Toronto and present the Joan Margarit International Poetry Prize to writer Margaret Atwood, winner of the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award and author of the celebrated novel 'The Handmaid's Tale'. The event will take place at the University of Toronto and will be attended by Luis García Montero, director of the Cervantes Institute. Return to Lakefield College The King will conclude his trip in Ontario with a visit to Lakefield College, where he studied his final year (equivalent to the University Orientation Course) between 1984 and 1985 when he was Prince of Asturias. At this world-renowned boarding school, the Monarch will be named honorary patron of the college and will attend the unveiling of the new 'King Felipe VI of Spain' student center. “This trip takes place within a context of intensified high-level contacts between Spain and Canada and a renewed impetus for bilateral ties, and reflects Spain’s desire to continue strengthening its relationship with a key partner and a particularly close ally,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release. This is the King’s first visit to Canada since his accession to the throne. Aside from his stay at Lakefield College, King Felipe attended the World Energy Congress in Montreal in September 1989, also as Prince of Asturias. His parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, made a state visit to Canada in March 1984, where they were received by the Governor General, Edward Schreyer, and the Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, and returned for an official visit to the North American country in October 1991. Furthermore, in March 1978, the King received the then Governor General, Jules Léger, making him the first Canadian head of state to visit Spain in history. The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited Canada on September 23 and 24, 2018. In 2025, Spain and Canada commemorated the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

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