Style His Excellency Inaugural holder Garrett Lambert | Residence Hong Kong Formation 1997 | |
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Website Consulate General, Hong Kong | ||
The Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macao represents Canada in Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China. As Hong Kong was linked to the Commonwealth during British administration, Canada's mission was called the Canadian Commission before the transfer of sovereignty to China on July 1, 1997. Since 1980, the Head of Mission in Hong Kong has also served as Consul-General to Macau.
Owing to the special status of Hong Kong and Macau, the Consulate General of Canada reports directly to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development in Ottawa, although it works closely with its counterparts in mainland China. Under an agreement signed on September 19, 1996, Ottawa and Beijing agreed that the former Commission, now Consulate General, would continue to operate as regulated by normal diplomatic procedures (such as the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations).
In common with the missions of most other countries in Hong Kong, the Consulate General does not have its own chancery building. In 1985 it moved located on the 11th to 14th floors in Exchange Square, at 8 Connaught Road Central. These offices provide a base for 23 Canada-based diplomats and 117 locally employed staff delivering a wide variety of services. The office relocated again in 2014 to two locations:
The history of Canadian diplomatic missions in the territory began in 1923 when a Canadian Immigration office was established in Hong Kong. In 1929, Trade Commissioner Paul Sykes opened the Canadian Trade Commission. At the start of World War II (1941), the office was closed, but it reopened in 1946.
The current Consul General is Jeff Nankivell.