Canadian Governor General on State Visit to Finland

On Tuesday, Canada's Governor General Mary Simon embarked on a three-day state visit to Finland and was received by the Finnish President Sauli Niinistö (National Coalition Party).

The two have discussed issues related to Canada and Finland's bilateral relationship, security, climate change, and Arctic cooperation. At a joint press conference, Niinistö emphasized how vulnerable the Arctic is to climate change. 

"It is our duty to do our best to avoid a catastrophe in the Arctic. If we lose the Arctic, we lose the globe. We have a major responsibility to cooperate on this issue," he said. 

Furthermore, Simon and Niinistö will participate in a panel discussion on Thursday about climate change's effects in the Arctic at the Arktikum Science Center in Rovaniemi, Northern Finland. There, Simon will also learn about Sàmi language learning and visit Lapland's Air Command.

On the issue of security, the Finnish president thanked Canada once again for being the first to approve Finland and Sweden's NATO applications. Both expressed that they look forward to developing cooperation on security and defense across the Atlantic Ocean as partners and future allies.

"We need to strengthen the trans-Atlantic cooperation to secure our collective security, defend our democracies, and preserve the international rule-based order," stated Simon.

"Canada and Finland's long-term friendship is based on people-to-people connections, shared values, and above all, trust. We have a mutual trust that we are taking the right steps, whether it concerns climate change, peace and security, democracy and human rights, multilateralism, and the Arctic," she continued.

The Governor General represents Canada's official head of state, King Charles III, and has mainly representative and ceremonial duties.