Event Date: June 5, 2026 - 9:30am to June 6, 2026 - 2:00pm
Location: FSS 4007, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Registration: Google Forms

Presented by CIPS, the Embassy of Germany in Canada, Global Affairs Canada and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

This year, Canada and Germany celebrate the 75-year anniversary of their mutual diplomatic relations. What started in 1951 with the exchange of ambassadors between Ottawa and Bonn, the capital of West Germany at the time, was initially a partnership among unequals: Germany, the divided country after its absolute defeat in the Second World War, and its immense charge for the horrendous crimes of the National Socialists, was looking for reintegration into the international community – the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) towards its Western partners under leadership of the United States of America, the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) towards its Eastern allies under leadership of the Soviet Union. Canada, while being part of the winning allies in both world wars, just started to convey an own, i. e. increasingly independent foreign policy. The creation of its largest military base abroad in the Southern German cities of Lahr and Baden-Baden/Söllingen became an important part of it.

Ever since, diplomatic relations have constantly improved, leading to a highly trusted partnership between both nations that find their expression in a multitude of contacts and exchanges, initiated and promoted by the Canada-Germany cultural agreement 1975. The changing geostrategic conditions with shifting power relations and strained relations to its closest ally, the USA, Canada has moved tangibly closer to the European Union in the areas of security, digital cooperation, energy resilience, and the support for Ukraine. In these relations, not only Brussels plays a major role, but also Germany as the EU’s largest member state and economic powerhouse.

Join us for a 2-day symposium:

On June 5-6, 2026, scholars and practitioners will come to uOttawa for a symposium “75 years Canada-Germany diplomatic relations”. While diplomats on both sides tirelessly emphasize the deep-rooted partnership, increased collaboration also provokes critique, especially in the area of energy and security cooperation. First Nations have expressed their rejection of plans to expand infrastructure across the country, such as newly built pipelines through indigenous territories or fossil energy loading terminals in ecologically sensitive seawaters such as the Hudson Bay. Procurement experts question that boasted budgets for increased defense purchases can hardly been processed, and that aspired projects such as joining the German-Norwegian submarine consortium of Thyssen-Krupp Maritime Systems (TKMS) will come too late given the high need of quickly upgrading Canada’s naval forces. Finally in Germany, the rise of right extreme AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) has put the government and a number of its core policies under increasing pressure, and it remains unclear how a growing involvement of this party would affect Germany’s future foreign relations, including with Canada.

Program

Day 1:

• 9:00am – 9:30am: Registration & Refreshments
• 9:30am – 10:00am: Opening Remarks
  • Prof. Derrick Gibbings, University of Ottawa, Associate Vice-President, Research Support and Infrastructure at the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation) –– including Indigenous affirmation
  • Hon. Dr. Robert Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • H. E. Tjorven Bellmann, Ambassador of Germany to Canada
  • John Paul Kleiner, DAAD Canada Representative
• 10:00am – 10:30am: Opening Lecture – 75 Years of Canada-Germany Diplomatic Relations: A Historical Overview
  • Chair: Dr. Jan Claudius Völkel, DAAD Seconded Professor, uOttawa
  • Speaker: Brendan Kelly, Head of the Historical Section and Deputy Director of the Foreign Policy Research and Foresight Division, Global Affairs Canada
• 10:30am – 11:30am: Panel 1 – History of Canada-Germany Relations
  • Chair: Habib Massoud, Global Affairs Canada (retired)
  • Speakers:
    • Alexander Freund, Professor and Chair in German-Canadian Studies, University of Winnipeg
    • Ursula Lehmkuhl, Professor, University of Trier
    • Manuel Meune, Professor, Université de Montréal
• 11:30am – 11:45am: Refreshments
• 11:45am – 12:45pm: Roundtable 1 – Canada’s Contribution to German Unification (1989/1990)
  • Chair: Manuel Meune, Professor, Université de Montréal
  • Speakers:
    • Prof. Walter Davidson, Science Attaché, Canadian Embassy Bonn (1990-1995)
    • Rafael Solís, Germanist & certified translator, Ottawa
    • Lillian Thomsen, Canadian diplomat (posted in Warsaw, Moscow and Leningrad during the 1980s)
    • Dieter E. Tietz, Counsellor, GDR Embassy Ottawa (1988-1990)
• 12:45pm – 1:45pm: Lunch1:45pm – 2:45pm: Roundtable 2 – The Canadian Forces in Germany
  • Chair: Dr. Jeff Noakes, historian, Canadian War Museum
  • Speakers:
    • Dr. Isabel Campbell, historian, Directorate of History and Heritage, National Defence Headquarters
    • Bgén (Ret’d) Charles Émond, Base Commander Lahr 1986-1989
    • LCol (Ret’d) Jeremy Mansfield, veteran in Lahr
• 2:45pm – 3:45pm: Panel 2 – Focus “People”: (De-)Radicalization in Canada and Germany
  • Chair: Dr. Swen Steinberg, Queen’s University Kingston
  • Speakers:
    • Dr. David Y. Clement, Senior Research Advisor Public Safety, Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence
    • Prof. Jennifer Evans, Professor, Carleton University
    • Dr. Marcus Funck, Professor, Technical University Berlin, Center for Antisemitism Studies
• 3:45pm – 4:00pm: Refreshments
• 4:00pm – 5:30pm: Roundtable 3 – University Cooperation Between Canada and Germany
  • Chair: Peter Kerrigan, Deputy Director, DAAD North America
  • Speakers:
    • Larissa Bezo, President, Canadian Bureau for International Education
    • John Paul Kleiner, DAAD Canada Representative, Toronto
    • Dr. Clotilde Ribaut, Senior Advisor, International Research, University of Ottawa
    • Prof. Mark Webber, Professor of German Studies (retired), York University

Day 2:

• 9:00am – 9:30am: Registration & Refreshments
• 9:30am -10:30am: High-Level Dialogue – The Next 75: Canada, Germany and the Future of Transatlantic Partnership
  • Chair: Jordan Leichnitz, Director, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Canada
  • Speakers:
    • MP Yasir Naqvi, Member of the House of Commons, Ottawa
    • MdB Sebastian Roloff, Member of the Bundestag, Berlin
• 10:30am – 11:30am: Panel 3 – Canada-Germany Relations: Politics, Security and Democracy
  • Chair: Prof. Chantal Lavallée, Royal Military College St. Jean
  • Speakers:
    • Dr. David Bosold, Freie Universität Berlin
    • Gerd Braune, German-Canadian journalist based in Ottawa
    • Prof. Thorsten Faas, Hannah Arendt Professor, University of Toronto/FU Berlin
• 11:30am – 11:45am: Refreshments
• 11:45am – 12:15pm: KAS Special Session
  • Dr. Bernd Althusmann, Director, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Canada
• 12:15pm – 1:30pm: Panel 4 – Canada-Germany Relations: Economy, Trade and Energy
  • Chair: Prof. Crina Viju-Miljusevic, Carleton University
  • Speakers:
    • Prof. Petra Dolata, University of Calgary
    • Prof. Maral Kichian, University of Ottawa
    • Nicolai Pogadl, Canadian-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CGCIC)
    • Prof. Stephan Schott, Carleton University
• 1:30pm – 1:45pm: Concluding Remarks
  • Isabelle Poupart, Director General, European Affairs, Global Affairs Canada 
  • Dr. Torsten Geißler, Counsellor / Head of Science, German Embassy Ottawa
  • Peter Kerrigan, Deputy Director, DAAD North America 
  • Dr. Jan Claudius Völkel, DAAD Seconded Professor, University of Ottawa