Welcome
Greetings from the Consul General
Dear readers,
It has become quiet in the Consulate General; half of the workforce is on a well-deserved Christmas vacation. Some flew to their families in Germany before the new Corona variant became known, others are staying in Canada. In view of the constantly changing pandemic situation, we hope that all of our colleagues and their families will return safe and sound in the New Year!
The consular service will of course also be available “between the years”. With the exception of Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, we will be available for your inquiries, and appointments booked in the consular section can be kept as normal. Many thanks to those colleagues who are holding the fort!
December brought far-reaching changes for German politics. The Merkel era came to an end and the new coalition began its work. The new Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and his Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Bündnis 90 / DIE GRÜNEN) introduced themselves personally to their European counterparts immediately after taking office. We are excited to see when they will find their way to Canada for the first time. This, too, will of course be largely dependent on the further development of the pandemic situation. As we have heard, Ms. Baerbock and Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Jolie got along well straight away when they first met at the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Liverpool - not only because they are both self-confident young women, but also because they have the same objectives in many areas of politics. For example, the climate policy, which must be tackled together in order to achieve success.
So there are exciting times ahead of us!
I would like to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! By the way – a good way to get into a festive mood is with Bach’s Christmas Oratorio highlighted below. I had the chance to attend EMV’s sold-out performance at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Most impressive and highly recommendable!
Stay healthy and please remain loyal to us in the future!
Best regards,
Hans Stocker
Deputy Consul General
Curriculum Vitae
Consul General Dr. jur. Klaus Schmidt
Born November 27, 1956 in Würzburg
Married, two children
| 1976 - 1981 | Law Studies |
| 1981 | 1st State Exam |
| 1981 - 1984 | Practical Training |
| 1984 | 2nd State Exam |
| 1991 | PhD (Dr. jur. utriusque) |
| 1985 - 2003 | Press and Information Office |
Assignments and Entry to the Foreign Office | |
| 1987 - 1988 | Press Section |
| 1991 - 1995 | Head of Press and Information Department, Visa and Consular Section |
| 2003 - 2005 | Head of Division K 01 |
| 2005 - 2008 | Political Section |
| 2008 - 2011 | Head of Division 603 and 608 |
| 2011 | Head of Cultural Section |
| 2012 - 2015 | Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Section |
| 2015 - 2018 | Consul General |
| since 8/2018 | Consul General |