German chancellor Olaf Scholz has officially begun a three-day visit to Canada.
Scholz, who took over from Angela Merkel in December last year, touched down in Montreal this evening for a visit that includes scheduled stops in Toronto and Stephenville in western Newfoundland.
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He will be accompanied throughout the tour by vice-chancellor Robert Habeck, who is in charge of the country’s energy file.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was on hand to greet the dignitaries on the tarmac of Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.
The chancellor and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are expected to sign a deal for Canada to supply clean hydrogen to Germany, as well as discuss the war in Ukraine.
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Scholz’s arrival coincides with renewed calls from Ukraine for Trudeau to cancel a decision to allow the return of a turbine being repaired in Montreal for use in a Russian pipeline that supplies natural gas to Germany.
The Ukrainian ambassador and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress called on Canada to cancel the waiver, which allowed a Canadian company to circumvent sanctions against Russia to return the turbine.