King Felipe VI meets with the Governor General and Prime Minister of Canada on his first trip to the North American country

The Diplomat King Felipe VI began his first official trip to Canada this Tuesday with a meeting with the Governor General, Mary Simon, and a dinner in his honor, which was also attended by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Upon his arrival at Ottawa's McDonald-Cartier International Airport, the King was received by Canada's Minister of Transport, Steve MacKinnon, and the Spanish Ambassador to Canada, Alfredo Martínez, among other officials. Later, according to the Royal Household, the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, received him at the official residence of Rideau Hall in Ottawa, where they held a meeting, which was subsequently joined by their respective delegations. The King is accompanied by the First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, and the State Secretary for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla. The day concluded with a dinner hosted in his honor by the Governor General of Canada and her husband, journalist Whit Fraser (current Chairman of the Canadian Polar Commission of the Canadian Federal Government), which was also attended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. This Wednesday, the King will travel to Toronto, where he will participate in the business forum taking place at the MaRS Discovery District, considered Canada's leading innovation hub. At this meeting, Carlos Cuerpo and Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, will formalize a cooperation agreement on artificial intelligence, according to the Canadian Government. The Monarch will also hold a working lunch with Spanish and Canadian business leaders organized by the Canadian Business Council (which is expected to be attended by around 170 Spanish and Canadian businesspeople) and will attend the "Invest in Spain" Café, organized by ICEX Spain Export and Investment. The day will conclude with a meeting with the Spanish community and prominent figures with ties to Spain at Victoria College, followed by the presentation of the Joan Margarit International Poetry Prize to Margaret Atwood, winner of the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award and author of the celebrated novel "The Handmaid's Tale." This event will take place at the University of Toronto and will be attended by Luis García Montero, director of the Cervantes Institute. The King will conclude his trip on Thursday in Ontario with a visit to Lakefield College, where he completed his final year of secondary school (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 student center, ‘King Felipe VI of Spain,’ all within the framework of the 40th anniversary of his graduating class. 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. In addition, 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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