News and Events
Prime Minister of Iceland visited Atlantic Canada
In Halifax the Prime Minister told newspaper reporters that he expects many of his countrymen to follow suit and visit Canada, thanks to a new open skies agreement between the Icelandic and Canadian governments.
The Prime Minister met with provincial Tourism Minister Len Goucher at Province House in Halifax on Sunday afternoon and in an interview with the Chronicle Herald he described the meeting as "excellent." Mr. Goucher, who visited Iceland in May, said Nova Scotia has already invested $500,000 in advertising in Iceland.
Besides tourism, Mr. Haarde and Mr. Goucher said they expect other business between Iceland and Canada to develop because of the agreement.
"The important thing is for the governments to agree on a framework and let the businesses find out where they can be profitable," Mr. Haarde said.
The prime minister, who came to power in June of last year, had been to Canada before but never to the Maritimes.
“New free trade and open skies agreements between Iceland and Canada could be good for Nova Scotia’s economy”, Prime Minister Haarde said in a meeting with the Chronicle Herald editorial board on Monday July 30, as reported in the paper the day after. "I think there are several economic opportunities."
He said the recent free trade agreement between Canada and the European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland); the recently signed open skies agreement between Iceland and Canada, including the resumption of direct Icelandair flights from Halifax; and the establishment by two Iceland banks – Glitnir and Landsbanki – of Halifax branch offices bode well for increased economic ties between Iceland and Nova Scotia.
Mr. Haarde noted that the large Icelandic shipping company, Eimskip, provides liner service between points in the United States and Canada, including Halifax. In July, Eimskip, which owns Atlas Cold Storage in Burnside, established the New England-Canada Express Short Sea Service, a weekly container service linking Halifax, Portsmouth, Boston and Portland.
"I would hope that we would see more Icelandic business move this way, taking advantage of the trade agreement," said Mr. Haarde. "But also I would like to see more Canadian investment in Iceland."
Canada’s direct investment in Iceland in 2006 was $1.3 billion while Iceland’s investment in Canada, including Atlantic Canada’s fisheries sector, was $730 million.
Early Sunday morning July 29, the guests from Iceland visited Markland, the little-known Icelandic settlement in Nova Scotia from the late 19th century. Thirty families moved to the area, near Upper Musquodoboit, but ultimately all but one left. The visitors met with board members of the Icelandic Memorial Society and the Scandinavian Society of Nova Scotia at a Sunday luncheon hosted by the Ambassador of Iceland to Canada.
Sunday afternoon the Prime Minister visited Pier 21, the famous gateway to Canada for over a million immigrants arriving by ship in the period 1928 to 1971. Later the visitors went on a boat tour of Halifax harbour where harbour officials and representatives of the Icelandic shipping company Eimskip explained expansion plans for Halifax harbour which is becoming the principal North American destination for Eimskip. Afterwards they visited the Halifax offices of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki.
