Canada recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 02, 1991, being at that time the first Western country and the second after Poland.

Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Canada were established on January 27, 1992.

The Embassy of Canada in Ukraine has been functioning since April 1992. The Embassy of Ukraine in Canada was opened in November 1992 and the General Consulate of Ukraine in Toronto in March 1993.

Development of bilateral relations in early years of Ukraine’s independence was characterized by active interstate dialogue with the visit of Governor General of Canada of Ukrainian descent The Right Honorable Ramon Hnatyshyn on September 28-October 01, 1992 being among the first bilateral contacts. The President of Ukraine visited Canada on October 23-27, 1994.

Democratic transformations in Ukraine facilitated further intensification of political dialogue between the two countries. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Canada renewed the practice of regular bilateral political consultations. Canadian leadership said that no Western country had closer ties to Ukraine than Canada, which had always supported freedom and democracy for Ukraine and would support Ukraine’s right to determine its own destiny, without interference from outside interests.

In 2008, on May 26-29, President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko paid a state visit to Canada and addressed the Joint Session of the House of Commons and the Senate of the Parliament of Canada which was an evidence of high level relations and partnership between the two states. A testament of the profound understanding between our nations became official recognition by Canada of Holodomor 1932-1933 in Ukraine as Genocide against the people of Ukraine which was fixed in the respective Canadian Law on May 29, 2008. This move as well as Canada’s co-authorship in resolutions of UN General Assembly, UNESCO and OSCE that commemorate the memory of victims of Holodomor in Ukraine is the highest form of solidarity of our countries.

Holodomor 1932-1933 in Ukraine has already been recognized as genocide at regional level by Parliaments (Legislative Assemblies) of such Canadian provinces as Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

At the beginning of 2009 relations between Ukraine and Canada were raised to the real level of Special Partnership which had been fixed in Joint Declarations signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Canada in 1994 and 2001.

Preserving positive dynamics of the bilateral dialogue Governor General of Canada The Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean paid a state visit to Ukraine on April 22-27, 2009. Negotiations with Ukrainian leadership promoted our high-level dialogue and strengthened the multifaceted cooperation and interaction between Ukraine and Canada as true partners and allies.

Developing Ukraine-Canada parliamentary dialogue Speaker of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada The Honorable Peter Milliken for the first time in the history of our bilateral relations visited Ukraine on September 5-9, 2009.

Ukraine and Canada constantly deepen interregional cooperation through exchange of visits and signature of bilateral documents as well as introduction of various initiatives and projects in economic, scientific and technological, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Canada has been actively involved in developing and strengthening Ukrainian military officers’ skills since 1993, particularly within the framework of the Canadian Military Training Assistance Program (MTAP) aimed at linguistic and professional training of specialists who are involved in peacekeeping operations and others who are helping to transform Ukrainian armed forces to NATO standards.

Canada expresses its strong support for Ukraine’s intentions to become member of NATO. In particular, during the NATO Bucharest Summit in April 2008 Prime Minister of Canada The Right Honorable Steven Harper said that through its actions at home and abroad, Ukraine had demonstrated that it shares the values of NATO. He also reassured that Canada will do everything in its power to help Ukraine realize aspirations for greater freedom, democracy and prosperity as long as the country keeps making progress on democratic reform and opening up its economy. On the eve of the Summit Canada became one of the co-authors of a letter of a number of NATO Allies addressed to their partners with an appeal to support Ukraine’s accession to Membership Action Plan.

In 2009 strong statements concerning Canada’s support of Ukraine’s membership in NATO were made by Governor General of Canada The Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean and Prime Minister of Canada The Right Honorable Steven Harper.

The international economic turmoil had direct impact on our national economies. Still, despite it Ukraine and Canada tried to deepen and enlarge economic cooperation. The main result of the work has become announcement of the launch of talks on bilateral free trade agreement, which was made during the visit of Canadian Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway The Honorable Stockwell Day to Ukraine on September 22-23, 2009. That time Ukrainian and Canadian partners announced about a number of contracts worth over $854 mln. that will deepen our partnership in such sectors as agricultural equipment and services and will help Ukraine build satellite communications systems that will cover the Euro-2012 soccer tournament being co-hosted by Ukraine.

Earlier, in June 2009 Odessa Sea Trade Port (Ukraine) and the Port of Halifax (Canada) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation which is aimed at expanding opportunities for importers and exporters in both countries through using Halifax's capacities as Atlantic gateway for Canada and North America as well as of the Port of Odessa as Sea gateway for Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

Since 2008 Ukrainian and Canadian sides have actively been enjoying renewed practice of bilateral business forums.

The fact that Ukraine in 2009 was included in the list of 20 principal partners of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is considered to be an evidence of political understanding between the two countries as well as the willingness of Canadian Government to support Ukrainian Government’s efforts aimed at further democratization of society and implementation of socially-oriented economic reforms.

Ukraine pays special attention to cooperation with Canada on projects within the framework of Global Partnership, in particular to Canada’s assistance to make the state border of Ukraine safe from trafficking in illicit nuclear and other radioactive materials.

Ukraine is pleased with constant development of cultural ties with Canada which are strengthened by more than a million Ukrainian community of Canada. We are proud with their contribution to the enrichment of Canada’s multiculturalism and economic prosperity.

Our countries are pledged to further deepen the strong, friendly and mutually beneficial relations. Active bilateral political dialogue and strong cooperation and partnership within international organizations as well as in different spheres show the strategic character of our relations. That was once again proven during the meeting of Heads of Ukrainian and Canadian Foreign Ministries on September 24, 2009 within the framework of the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly when the two counterparts signed Road Map of Ukraine-Canada relations, the document which highlights a new level of cooperation between Ukraine and Canada, fixing their mutual desire to deepen bilateral cooperation and determining priorities in economic, political, security, humanitarian and cultural spheres.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada The Honorable Lawrence Cannon said Ukraine is for Canada a key European partner and Canada will strongly support Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

Road Map stresses on common values and interests of the two democracies, including spreading democratic and economic freedoms, guaranteeing security and territorial integrity, strengthening rule of law, and supporting innovative technological development.