Canada-Bangladesh relations
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Bilateral relations
Canada established diplomatic relations with Bangladesh in 1972. Canada is represented by the High Commission of Canada to Bangladesh, in Dhaka. In Canada, Bangladesh is represented by the High Commission for Bangladesh in Ottawa.
Canada pursues a broad range of interests in its bilateral relations with Bangladesh, including:
- people-to-people links
- governance
- development cooperation
- trade and investment
- climate change
Both countries also participate actively on the international stage as members of the United Nations and are members of the Commonwealth.
Canada believes that democracy is integral to a peaceful and prosperous future for Bangladeshis and supports programs that help strengthen Bangladesh’s democratic institutions, security and justice sectors. This includes the full participation of women.
People-to-people links between Canada and Bangladesh are expanding. The Bangladeshi-Canadian community is strong, estimated at over 100,000 people of Bangladeshi origin living in Canada. They continue to make significant contributions to Canadian prosperity and to the multi-cultural fabric of Canada, reinforcing ties between our two countries.
Canada has expressed its concerns about the state of human rights, democracy and rule of law in Bangladesh. This includes concerns related to the rights of workers and of various groups: religious minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and women and girls. Canada encourages Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that human rights and democratic freedoms are respected.
Canada works with the Government of Bangladesh to help ensure that the more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees it hosts live in safety and in dignity, while helping to meet the needs of both refugees and of impacted Bangladeshi host communities. Learn more about Canada’s response to the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh and the broader situation of conflict and instability in Myanmar.
Development
Canada and Bangladesh share more than 50 years of development partnership, underpinned by over $6.2 billion of international assistance to Bangladesh since 1972. Current programming supports mutual priorities in the areas of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, health (including sexual and reproductive health and rights), education and skills training, labour reform, climate change adaptation and economic growth, as well as support to Rohingya refugees and host communities.
Trade relations
Bilateral Trade
In 2025, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Bangladesh reached $4.0 billion, comprising $2.7 billion in imports from Bangladesh and $1.3 billion in Canadian exports. Canadian exports to Bangladesh represented 0.2% of Canada’s total exports in 2025. Exports were led by farm, fishing, and intermediate food products, which accounted for 81.8% of total Canadian exports to Bangladesh.
Compared with 2024, Canadian exports increased by 25.7%, while imports from Bangladesh rose by 23.4%. Imports from Bangladesh totalled $2.7 billion in 2025, representing 0.3% of Canada’s total imports. These imports were dominated by consumer goodswhich accounted for 99.4% of imports from Bangladesh in 2025, particularly ready‑made garments (RMG).
Bangladesh was Canada’s sixth largest pulse export market (e.g. dry peas, lentils, chickpeas) in 2025, and a major market destination for high quality wheat. In addition, several flagship Canadian companies from the readymade garments, aerospace, defence and security sectors are active in the Bangladesh market and pursuing new business opportunities.
Canada has supplied Bangladesh more than four million metric tonnes of potash since 1972. In partnership with the Canadian Commercial Corporation, the Government of Canada signed the first government-to-government agreement with the Government of Bangladesh in April 2014 to export high quality potash fertilizer to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has enjoyed duty-free market access to Canada, for most goods, since 2003, expanding access to the Canadian market for almost all commodities from Bangladesh.
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Partnerships and organizations
To develop effective responses to today’s most pressing global challenges, Canada and Bangladesh work closely in multilateral fora, such as:
- Commonwealth
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
- International Criminal Court (ICC)
- United Nations (UN)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
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