ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Canada said Monday that it closed its office in Erbil months after announcing plans to end the mission citing changes in Iraq’s security landscape and the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) amid ongoing progress toward stability.
“Today, as we prepare to close, the landscape has changed. Daesh [ISIS] has been territorially defeated, and Iraq has made important strides towards stability. Many internally displaced persons have returned home, and we recognize and appreciate the shelter and support the Kurdistan Region has provided– and continues to provide– to displaced minorities seeking safety,” Sandra McCardell, Canada’s deputy foreign minister, said in a statement obtained by Rudaw.
Canada is a member of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), which was formed in 2014 after the radical group gained control of swathes of Syrian and Iraqi land.
“While challenges remain, Iraq is better positioned to chart its own future, with the Kurdistan Region continuing to serve as a model of resilience and tolerance within the country,” McCardell stated.
She emphasized the critical role the Kurdistan Region has played since 2014 as a “hub for humanitarian efforts.”
In June, the spokesperson of Global Affairs Canada told Rudaw that Canada will close its office in Erbil and reduce diplomatic presence in Iraq and Jordan in March 2025.
Tom Kmiec, a Canadian legislator of the Conservative Party and Co-Founder of the Parliamentary Friends of the Kurds group in the Canadian parliament, in September 2023 visited the Kurdistan Region with a delegation of Canadian lawmakers and commended the Region as a beacon of safety and stability, explaining that his party aims to expand the Canadian representation in Erbil to a consulate if it emerges victorious in the next Canadian elections.
According to Kmiec, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a conservative, wanted to expand Canada’s diplomatic mission in Erbil to a consulate in 2015 but was unable to carry out his plans after the party lost the elections to their rivals, the Liberal Party.
The spokesperson emphasized in June that the Canadian government pledged in Budget 2023 to cut spending by $14.1 billion over five years starting in 2023–24, with ongoing annual savings of $4.1 billion thereafter.
The spokesperson added that the Canadian Embassy in Baghdad will continue regular engagement with both officials and the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
