Following the October 7th massacre in Israel, Canadian officials coordinated with their Greek counterparts to use Athens as a transportation hub to safely repatriate Canadians fleeing from the first few days of the war.

This is but one in a long list of examples that underscore strong Canada-Greece bilateral relations – relations that commenced in 1899 when the first Greek Consul-General arrived in Montreal.

It was during the Second World War, however, when the Canada-Greece bond enjoyed on both sides of the Atlantic today was forged in battle. Canada was a staunch supporter of Greek efforts to defeat Nazi Germany, which included the establishment of a Greek War Relief Fund that provided much needed supplies to the Greek nation.

Canada’s efforts were of such value that Greece honoured Prime Minister Mackenzie King by renaming streets in its two largest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as the historic port-city of Piraeus. This tribute so moved Canada’s longest-serving prime minister that he described it in his diary as “the greatest [honour] of the many that have been bestowed in the course of my public life.”

The bilateral bond will be on full display as the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic (Greece’s official name), Kyriakos Mitsotakis, begins a three-day visit to Canada this weekend – the first visit of a Greek prime minister in four decades.

Similar to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mitsotakis – who was first elected as prime minister in 2019 and re-elected with a strong majority last year – followed in his father’s political footsteps. The elder Mitsotakis, Konstantinos, held a number of cabinet posts and capped-off his political career as prime minister in the early 1990s. He was also no stranger to Canada, having hosted Ontario Premier Bill Davis for a trade mission in 1979, as well as working closely with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to promote shared values such as democracy and freedom following the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Today, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his centre-right New Democracy party have revitalized the Greek economy and cemented Greece as a trusted and stable partner in the Balkan and broader Mediterranean region. Greece is also a leading candidate to win a non-permanent UN Security Council seat for the 2025-2026 term. Given geopolitical volatilities and the instability in that part of the planet, Mitsotakis’ visit is a critical opportunity for the Government of Canada to strengthen a strategic bilateral relation with a country, Greece, that follows and respects a rules-based international system.

The Hellenic Republic is a responsible NATO ally and one of only three countries, along with Poland and the United States, that allocates more than three per-cent of its GDP on defence expenditures (the NATO guideline is 2%; Canada is notoriously in the bottom quartile of countries, currently spending only 1.4% of GDP on defence).

Following the long and difficult Greek sovereign debt crisis, the country has now emerged with a vibrant economy: its credit rating has been upgraded by multiple agencies and the country’s benchmark stock exchange has been a strong performer; it’s up 65.2% over the last three-years, whereas Canada’s main S&P/TSX Composite Index is up only 15.9% during the same time.

Trade relations between both countries continue to grow; outside of the European Union, Canada is Greece’s second largest trading partner. A number of Canadian-based companies have significant operations in Greece, including Eldorado Gold Corporation, which operates a notable mining project in the northern part of the country.

Last October, the second Toronto Economic Forum (organized by the Delphi Economic Forum in partnership with The Hellenic Initiative – Canada) brought political, diplomatic, and industry leaders from both countries to strengthen business-to-business relations and identify bilateral investment opportunities. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, together with his Greek counterpart, discussed potential new economy partnerships (the session was chaired by the unrivalled Vassy Kapelos, CTV News Chief Political Correspondent and a prominent Greek-Canadian).

What especially distinguishes relations – and what has been and should continue to be leveraged by political leadership – is the strong people-to-people ties, particularly through the tourism sector; Liberal Member of Parliament Annie Koutrakis, who is also of Greek-descent and currently the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism, visited Greece in January to discuss the possibility of establishing a ‘Destination Canada’ office in Athens.

On Sunday, prime ministers Trudeau and Mitsotakis will join thousands of people to celebrate the annual Annunciation and Greek Independence Day parade in Montreal. During this and other engagements, Canadian officials have a chance to fortify economic, military, and social relations with a long-standing and dependable ally in a key region of the world.

*Evagelos Sotiropoulos is a Toronto-based writer. He also publishes a weekly trading and investing newsletter, ‘My Two Cents’.