As Canada looks to deepen its economic ties with Europe, Irish ministers, diplomats and investment agencies are making a clear argument: Ireland should be the country’s preferred base inside the European Union.
That message emerged consistently across the ICBA Business Summit, where speakers argued that shifting geopolitical conditions, combined with Ireland’s position inside the EU, present an opportunity to strengthen one of Canada’s fastest-growing international business relationships.
Minister for Social Protection, Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary said Canada’s changing international outlook had elevated Ireland’s strategic importance.
Referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s longstanding personal and political links with Ireland, Calleary said the Canadian leader viewed Ireland as “Canada’s gateway to the European Union”, while also recognising the country’s strengths as a location for investment and business expansion.
The argument extends beyond shared history or political goodwill. Speakers repeatedly framed Ireland as a practical commercial platform for Canadian companies seeking access to the European market at a time when businesses are reassessing supply chains, market concentration and international partnerships.
Ireland’s ambassador to Canada, John Concannon, described Ireland as “a common law, English-speaking EU member state” that offers Canadian businesses “a trusted springboard into one of the world’s largest markets”. As Canada seeks to diversify its international economic relationships, he said Ireland provides a strategic base for expansion in financial services, technology, research, innovation and global trade.
That proposition is reinforced by recent growth in the bilateral relationship. Concannon said Ireland is now Canada’s tenth-largest investor, with two-way trade worth approximately $14 billion and further growth opportunities already identified. Since the provisional implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), trade between Ireland and Canada has expanded significantly, providing what speakers argued is evidence of the commercial potential still to be realised.
For the IDA, the focus is increasingly on converting that strategic position into investment decisions.
IDA executive director Mary Buckley said Canada has become an increasingly important source of foreign direct investment as companies seek to diversify internationally.
“Ireland really does offer Canadian firms a practical and strategic base from which they can diversify and grow their operations in Europe,” she said.
Buckley pointed to several structural advantages beyond market access, including Ireland’s common law system, English-speaking workforce, direct air connectivity, visa-free travel and close regulatory alignment with Canada. She also highlighted the country’s young workforce, strong STEM graduate pipeline and continued investment in research and development as factors supporting long-term competitiveness.
Her remarks also reflected a more cautious tone. Competition for international investment, she warned, has intensified, meaning Ireland cannot rely on past success alone. Continued investment in infrastructure, skills, innovation and digital capability will be essential if Ireland is to maintain its attractiveness for global investors.
That need for diversification was echoed elsewhere during the summit.
Economist Jim Power argued that Ireland’s heavy dependence on US multinational investment has become a growing strategic risk as geopolitical uncertainty increases. While describing that concentration as “a symptom of success”, he said Ireland now needs to broaden both its export markets and sources of foreign direct investment.
Canada, he suggested, represents one of the most natural opportunities because of the two countries’ cultural affinity, business compatibility and established political relationship. Building that relationship further would require sustained effort, but he argued the potential was considerable.
The argument that Ireland can serve as Canada’s European platform is already reflected in corporate investment decisions.
During a later panel discussion, Greenfield Global managing director Ken Finnegan said the Toronto-headquartered company selected Ireland when establishing its first European manufacturing operation because it provided the gateway the business needed into European markets. Ireland’s concentration of biotechnology manufacturing, combined with access to Europe, made it the logical location for expansion.
Taken together, the summit presented a consistent strategic narrative. Ireland’s role is no longer framed simply through historic ties or cultural connections with Canada. Instead, speakers argued that changing patterns of global trade are creating a commercial rationale for closer economic integration.
Whether that opportunity translates into increased Canadian investment will depend less on political goodwill than on Ireland’s ability to sustain the conditions that made it attractive in the first place: policy stability, skilled talent, competitive infrastructure and reliable access to European markets. Those, rather than sentiment alone, will determine whether Ireland becomes Canada’s preferred gateway to Europe.
* Since the Summit, that opportunity has moved further into focus. During Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Ireland in June, the two governments agreed a new framework for deeper economic cooperation, including a commitment to position Ireland as a trusted gateway for Canadian companies seeking to access and scale across the European Union.