Canada's international parliamentary relations are carried out in part through formal parliamentary associations and interparliamentary groups that operate on multilateral and bilateral levels to promote Canada's interests abroad on a continuing basis.

The Parliament of Canada has twelve official parliamentary associations, each with clear objectives and goals in relation to their bilateral or multilateral activities. The five bilateral associations include:

On the multilateral side Canada is a member of seven associations, which include:

Each of these interparliamentary associations is composed of members of the Senate and of the House of Commons. These members meet at annual meetings and elect executive committees to coordinate and direct their activities. These executive committees are responsible for planning and coordinating activities with their bilateral counterparts or with the international secretariats of the multilateral organizations of which they are members.

Each parliamentary association has a secretary who is responsible for its day-to-day operations. He/she is assisted by the support staff of the International and Interparliamentary Affairs Directorate, that provides services to both Houses of Parliament. The secretary reports to the Executive Committee of the association.

The Joint Interparliamentary Council (JIC), which operates under the authority of the two Speakers, is mandated with the responsibility of determining all budgetary and administrative matters relating to Parliamentary Associations. Specifically, the Council determines the level of funding to be distributed to each association within the limits of the total allotments approved by the Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy.

The JIC also coordinates the activities and determines the operating policies of Parliamentary Associations to ensure effective, efficient, consistent and coherent support for interparliamentary activities.

There are four official interparliamentary groups that currently operate within the Canadian Parliament. Three groups, Canada-Germany, Canada-Israel and Canada-Italy, were officially constituted in 1981. Canada-Ireland was officially recognized in 2004.

The aim of these interparliamentary groups is to strengthen relations between Canadian parliamentarians and those in the countries concerned in order to foster mutual cooperation and understanding between parliamentarians and nations.

These groups organize general meetings and working luncheons for their members and from time to time welcome parliamentarians or officials from the different countries involved.

The Parliament of Canada funds the activities of parliamentary associations by way of votes found in the Main Estimates. The International and Interparliamentary Affairs Directorate has full administrative responsibility. International Membership fees and program expenses are split between the House (70%) and the Senate (30%).

Each parliamentary association must submit annually to the Joint-Interparliamentary Council a budget and detailed workplan. From the total funding allotted by Parliament the JIC apportions funds to the associations based on their budget submissions.

Interparliamentary groups receive no funding. Their sole source of revenue is the membership fees they receive from individual parliamentarians.