It has been a busy and exciting late summer for our team with five political delegations from Germany visiting Toronto from late August till the beginning of October that emphasized the strong and growing dynamic of German-Canadian Relations.

Visit of Michael Grosse-Brömer, Parliamentary Secretary of the German Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU)

A delegation headed by Parliamentary Secretary Michael Grosse-Brömer visited Toronto from 24^th to 26^th of August and met with members of the provincial Parliament of Ontario and other high-rankingpolitical stakeholders. During their visit the delegates also attended the celebrations on the 40th anniversary of German Language Schools in Canada.

Visit of Martin Dulig, Deputy Minister President of Saxony

A delegation led by Deputy Minister Presidentof Saxony, Martin Dulig visited Toronto from 12^th to 14^th of September 2018. Their program included visits of various companies and science institutions with a special focus on the areas of Life Science and Smart Cities. Visits included Magna, the Fraunhofer Institute, MacMaster University, the City of Toronto, as well as a visit of the Mississaugas of the New Credit.

Visit of Winfred Kretschmann, Minister President of Baden-Württemberg

The Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, Winfred Kretschmann visited Toronto from 19^th to 21^st of September 2018, accompanied by 5 provincial ministers, members of Parliament and a representatives from the business community and science institutions.. Apart from meetings with universities, scientific institutions, companies, think tanks andNGO’s, the Minister President was received by The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell at Queen's Park before heading to Ottawa, where he met with The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau.

Visit of Stephan Weil, Minister President of Lower Saxony

Premier Stephan Weil visited Toronto from 1^st to 3^rd of October with a special focus on Digitalization, mobility and immigration. Their program included visits of the legislative assembly of Ontario, Sidewalk Labs Toronto, as well as Costi Immigration Service, where the delegation could witness Canadas Integration concepts and measures first-hand.

Visit of of Federal Minister for Education and Research, Anja Karliczek

Anja Karliczek, Federal Minister of Education and Research in the Merkel Cabinet, visited Toronto from 4^th to 5^th of October focusing on Artificial Intellegence and Digitalization. Her program included visits of the DMZ at Ryerson University, MARS and the Vector institute, as well as meetings with high-ranking members of the business and science community. We were honored to welcome her as guest of honour at our celebrations of theDay of German Unity on 4^th of October at Ricarda’s.. In her speech, Federal Minister Karliczek emphasised the similarities that link Germany and Canada: “Canada and Germany may be separated by an ocean, but spiritually we are close. We can trust each other. This makes it possible for us to react together to the rapid changes in the world, to globalization, digitalization, climate change and migration.”