Monday 24th January 2011
Scotland to strengthen Canada ties
The Herald
This week a team from the Canadian High Commission will visit Scotland to meet business leaders and MSPs, Ahead of the trip, the Canadian High Commissioner to the UK, James R Wright, reflects on the strong ties between the two countries.
Canada and Scotland have deep historical ties, so the Scottish Government’s recent announcement that it is to forge even closer commercial, cultural, educational and governmental links with Canada is very welcome news.
Our relationship goes back centuries. More than four million Canadians claim Scottish ancestry and generations of Scottish migrants brought their ideas, inventiveness and ingenuity across the Atlantic. The Scots helped make Canada what it is today. They explored and opened up vast tracts of land, they built railways, bridges and shipping lines, they developed our banking system and took leading roles in education and politics – indeed, the first Canadian Prime Minister, Sir John A Macdonald was born here in Glasgow.
The relationship between Canada and Scotland is already strong and the two countries share common strengths – world class education systems, internationally recognised research communities, highly skilled workforces and thriving creative industries.
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