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Canada and Qatar enjoyed friendly relations and coordination on the international field, long before Qatar’s Embassy opened in Ottawa in 2011, including their joint military collaboration during the 1st Gulf War and in the international campaign to liberate the Libyan people. Diplomatic relations between the two nations were established in 1974.
The Governor General of Canada, David Johnston and his wife visited Doha in 2011, and a parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker of the Senate, Noël Kinsella visited Qatar in the same year. In 2012, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird opened Canada’s Embassy in Doha and conducted another official visit in 2013.
Canada and Qatar were involved in a dispute over Qatar's bid to relocate the International Civil Aviation Organization from Montreal to Doha in 2013. In May of that year, Qatar withdrew its bid, stating that it did so to “preserve the close and historic friendship” between the two countries.
Military relations
During the 1991 Gulf War, Qatar allowed coalition troops from Canada to use the country as an airbase to launch aircraft on CAP duty.