Members of Parliament of the Republic of Latvia (Saeima), representing Latvia-Canada Parliamentary Friendship group, visited Ottawa from 19 – 21st of April, 2026. The delegation was led by Irma Kalniņa who was accompanied by Edvards Smiltēns, Secretary of Saeima, Jānis Grasbergs, Deputy Secretary of Saeima, and Members of Parliemant Ramona Petraviča and Kaspars Briškens. During the visit, the first ever meeting with Canada – Latvia Parliamentary Friendship group, co-chaired by Senator Rebecca Patterson and Member of Parliament Marie-France Lalonde, took place.
The Latvian delegation had several important meetings at the Senate and House of Commons of Canada: with Ahmed Hussen, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, House of Commons; Senator Peter M. Boehm, Chair of the Standing Committee, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Senate of Canada, and Charles Sousa, Chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence, House of Commons. Delegations discussed global security challenges and opportunities to further strengthen cooperation within NATO and through European Union mechanisms, such as SAFE and Horizon Europe, as well as joint efforts to continue support to Ukraine. Economic and trade cooperation were discussed with Parliamentary Secretaries to the Minister of Industry Karim Bardeesy and Carlos Leitão, as well as with Ben Carr, Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, and Terry Duguid, Chair of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources of the Parliament of Canada.
The delegation visited Peace Latvian Church in Ottawa and met Latvian community members, as well as teachers and students of the Latvian school in Ottawa.
They also visited Airbus facility in Mirabel, Québec, the supplier of Airbus A220-300 aircraft fleet to the Latvian airline AirBaltic.