Bilateral relations

Bilateral relations between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Canada, which date back to 1940 with the arrival in exile in Quebec of the Grand Ducal family, followed by that of the Luxembourg Government, have gradually deepened to form a solid and multifaceted partnership across all fields.

1. Historical overview

During the Second World War, following the invasion of Luxembourg, Their Royal Highnesses Grand Duchess Charlotte, Prince Félix and the princely children arrived in exile in Montreal on 14 October 1940. On 6 November 1940, Prime Minister Mr Pierre Dupong and Minister of Justice Mr Victor Bodson arrived, along with their families. The Luxembourg Government-in-exile was thus established there, with its offices located on the 8th floor of the ‘Sun Life’ building from January 1941 to May 1944. In January 1941, HRH Grand Duchess Charlotte was received by the Right Honourable Governor General of Canada and the Countess of Athlone at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

After a brief stay at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the Mascouche Manor, the Grand Ducal family settled at 1305 Avenue des Pins in Montreal, which today houses the contemporary art gallery ‘Pangée’. On 3 October 2025, H.E. Ambassador Kugener hosted a commemorative reception there to mark the arrival in exile of the Sovereign, the Grand Ducal family and the Luxembourg Government 85 years ago. Quebec’s Minister for International Relations and La Francophonie, Mr Christopher Skeete, honoured the reception with his presence, noting in his speech that Montreal thus became the capital of the Grand Duchy and the seat of the Government in exile.

In late 1941, Their Royal Highnesses Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix moved to Washington, but the princely children continued to attend schools in Quebec. The Hereditary Grand Duke Jean attended Laval University from late 1940 until 6 October 1942, before entering the Royal Military College at Aldershot in November 1942; Prince Charles studied at the Jesuit College in Quebec City, and Princesses Elisabeth, Adelaide, Marie-Gabrielle and Alix were educated at the Collège Jésus-Marie in Sillery

2. Diplomatic relations

Following her stay in the United States, HRH the Grand Duchess settled in London, where, on 3 January 1945, she received the credentials of Mr William Turgeon, who became Canada’s first non-resident ambassador to Luxembourg, having travelled from Brussels to London for his accreditation to the Grand Duchy. This date therefore marks the establishment of official diplomatic relations, the 80th anniversary of which we celebrated in 2025.

In 1949, a Grand-Ducal decree appointed Mr Hughes Le Gallais, Minister Plenipotentiary in Washington, as Envoy Extraordinary and Non-Resident Minister of Luxembourg in Ottawa, a post he assumed after presenting his credentials to the Right Honourable Governor General, Count Alexander de Tunis, in April 1950. For more than seven decades, bilateral relations with Canada were therefore closely monitored by the Luxembourg Embassy based in Washington.

On 4 December, H.E. Jean Claude Kugener presented his credentials to the Right Honourable Governor General, thereby becoming the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg’s first resident ambassador to Canada. The embassy was officially inaugurated on 11 June 2025 by H.E. Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. The new embassy will eventually house a consulate, a ‘Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office (LTIO)’ and a ‘Maison du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg’.

Luxembourg has always had honorary consuls in Canada, namely in Edmonton (Alberta), Montreal (Quebec), Ottawa (the capital), Toronto (Ontario) and Vancouver (British Columbia). Only the consulate in Toronto is currently operational, headed by the honorary consul, Ms Shauneen Bruder.

3. Economic, trade and financial relations

Economic, trade and financial relations between Luxembourg and Canada have strengthened over recent decades and are on a positive trajectory.

 According to Canadian statistics, Luxembourg is the 9th largest foreign direct investor in Canada, with investments totalling 22.3 billion Canadian dollars in 2024. Total trade in goods and services has grown steadily over the last decade, placing Canada as Luxembourg’s 23rd largest trading partner.  Luxembourg ratified the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on 7 May 2020.

The presence of Luxembourgish companies in Canada illustrates the diversity of the sectors involved (with a few examples): Cargolux operates a regular service to Calgary; SES Satellites is active in various provinces; ArcelorMittal is a major player in the mining and steel industry across many provinces in Canada; Batipart owns, amongst other properties, the Humaniti Tower and Hotel in Montreal and Omega Park; APATEQ is involved in industrial water treatment; iNui-Studio is rolling out its AIR-TOUCH technology, amongst other applications, across St Hubert restaurants in Quebec; Bernard-Massard distributes its crémants via the Société d’Alcool du Québec (SAQ).

The Canadian presence in Luxembourg is represented by: Husky Technologies, with its European base in Dudelange for injection moulding machines; NorthStar Earth & Space, which has established its European headquarters in Luxembourg; Kobo and OpenText, which have set up their European operations there; and CIBC, which is the only Canadian bank in the Luxembourg financial centre.

The new resident embassy will house not only the Consulate and the ‘Maison du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg’ but also a ‘Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office’ with a team dedicated to strengthening bilateral relations.

4. Bilateral agreements

Relations between Luxembourg and Canada are underpinned by a number of key agreements (to name a few):

• Social Security Agreement between Luxembourg and Quebec (1987)
• Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital (1999)
• Memorandum of Understanding on scheduled air services (2003)
• Canada–EU Air Transport Agreement (2019)
• Memorandum of Understanding on Youth Mobility (2019)
• Treaty on Audiovisual Co-production (2021)
• Cultural Cooperation Agreement between Quebec and Luxembourg (2021)

5. Relations in the field of higher education

According to available sources, 142 Luxembourg residents were studying in Canada in the 2024–2025 academic year, mainly in Quebec. The University of Luxembourg has signed inter-university cooperation agreements with six Canadian universities: namely the University of Ottawa, the University of Montreal, the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), the University of Sherbrooke, Laval University and the University of Western Ontario.

In March 2021, an agreement covering research, innovation and higher education was signed between the Government of Quebec and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with the aim of formalising and strengthening existing collaborations in these fields. Furthermore, an agreement signed in May 2020 between the Luxembourg National Research Fund and the Fonds de recherche du Québec enables the joint funding of projects under the Fonds de recherche du Québec’s AUDACE programme.