Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Andall has confirmed that Grenada will be setting a diplomatic mission in Canada. Sylvester Quarless, who served as a government minister between 2008 and 2013, has been named as the High Commissioner to Canada.
“Yes, the government has moved to, or we are in the process of moving to open a High Commission in Ottawa, Canada. We recognise that to gain maximum benefit from our diplomatic representation in that country, that it is more productive, more sensible to have a presence in the capital where the decisions are made, where you are more likely to have an impact,” Andall said in response to a question which sought to confirm the appointment.
“We have started the process, and we are now awaiting several other moves, some of which are outside of our control at the moment but once we get the green light from the Canadian authorities, we will be proceeding full steam ahead with the physical setting up of that mission,” Andall told journalists during a news conference on Tuesday, 16 April 2024.
Grenada currently has joint representation in Ottawa through the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat as well as through the appointment of an Honorary Consulate in Montreal and an Honorary Consul in Toronto. Andall said the consulate in the city of Toronto will continue to function.
“Off course we will continue to maintain our consulate in Toronto where the majority of Grenadians in Canada reside,” he said without indicating what will become of the Montreal Consulate office. The setting up of the diplomatic mission in Ottawa will bring to 8 the number of embassies functioning for Grenada. The others are Cuba, United States of America, United Kingdom, Russia, Venezuela, China and Brussels.
Canada and Grenada established diplomatic relations in 1974 after the country gained independence from Great Britain. Canada is represented in Grenada by the High Commission of Canada in Barbados, while Grenada is represented in Canada by a non-resident High Commissioner based in Washington, DC, and maintains the Consulate General in Toronto and an honorary consulate in Montreal.
