Dear readers of the newsletter of the German Consulate General in Vancouver,

Summer is coming to an end, and autumn is knocking on the door. I hope you all had a pleasant and relaxing holiday and enjoyed the sunny season. September signals a return to work, school, and university, and reminds us that Christmas and the end of the year are slowly approaching; the days are getting shorter, the light softer, and in many regions, we anticipate the much-needed first rains.

In this context, we are pleased to present one of the events we are organizing together with our German, Canadian and French partners at the Botanical Garden at UBC: Climate Talks - Connecting Food, Health, and Biodiversity in a Changing Climate. We would be delighted to welcome our readers there and look forward to exciting discussions on these pressing global challenges!

At the Consulate, we experienced some major changes over the summer as several colleagues have left Vancouver for new destinations, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors. New colleagues have arrived from places not quite as pleasant as Vancouver, and we wish them a wonderful time in this blessed corner of the world.

September also marks the end of the parliamentary summer recess in both Germany and Canada. In Germany, Federal Chancellor Merz has announced an “autumn of reforms” to bring the country back on track. In Canada, Prime Minister Carney is reaching out to, among others, European countries to diversify economic and trade relations and to strengthen our common security. It is reassuring to see the growing strength of relations between our two countries, which makes us all more resilient in the face of challenges from East, West, North, and South.

Here in Vancouver, my European colleagues and I feel this spirit in our work—for example, through the growing interest of the provinces in tapping the full potential of CETA, and the activities to establish new and deeper economic ties with Germany and Europe to broaden our cooperation. We also see an increased number of trade missions from Europe to Western Canada, and the recent critical minerals agreement between Canada and Germany is paving the way for even closer economic collaboration.

There are many positive developments that we welcome and strive to foster. They are a testament to our can-do spirit, economic foresight, global vision, and shared values, and they help us grow stronger together.

With this in mind, I wish you a great start to the fall season and a wonderful September.

Marc Eichhorn
Consul General