Canada-Barbados Relations

Fact Sheet: General country information, political and economic data.

Beginning of Diplomatic Relations

Canada's relations with Barbados are close and long-standing. The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service has had a relationship with Barbados dating back to the 1920s. James Russell McKinney became Canada's first High Commissioner on November 30, 1966. Since then, the Canadian High Commission in Bridgetown has represented Canadian interests in Barbados, the six independent countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines), the three independent British Overseas Territories (Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat) and St. Maarten. The Canadian High Commission in Bridgetown also offers consular and trade services for Guadeloupe and Martinique. Canada and Barbados often cooperate within the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the Organization of American States.

Key Issues

• Correctional Services Reform:
  Canada and Barbados have formalized a bilateral cooperation agreement in correctional services reform and professional development, which provided the impetus for the two countries to conclude a Transfer of Offenders Treaty in 2003.

• Security:
  Canada enjoys a strong cooperative relationship with Barbados in matters of state security concerns, such as narco-trafficking, economic globalization, climate change and HIV/AIDS. In recent years, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Department of National Defence and the Correctional Service of Canada have provided advice, technical assistance or teams of experts to Barbados. This assistance has played a key role in facilitating the strategic reappraisal of the Eastern Caribbean Regional Security System.

• Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program:
  Barbados is part of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, which provides an opportunity for Caribbean farm workers to work in Canada temporarily, primarily during the harvesting of fruit and vegetable crops. The program has helped to alleviate unemployment in the region, and generates significant foreign exchange.

Trade and Investment

International Trade Canada is responsible for positioning Canada as a world business leader and for promoting Canada as a dynamic place to do business. Visit the International Trade Canada web site for information about services for Canadian companies, non-Canadian companies, business development, and information relating to investment or trade policy.

Indigenous Relations

Learn more about the Aboriginal dimension of Canada's relations with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Development Assistance

CIDA supports projects in the Americas and around the world that are eligible for Canadian aid through development cooperation initiatives.

April 2005