Canada-Ghana relations

Bilateral relations

In 1906, Quebec missionaries established a church in Navrongo in northern Ghana, marking the arrival of a Canadian presence in the country. Bilateral relations between Canada and Ghana are strong and based on more than 60 years of global cooperation, particularly in the United Nations and the Commonwealth. Ghana has established strong democratic credentials. Freedom of expression, a dynamic press and an active civil society are part of the Ghanaian political landscape.

Canada is represented by the High Commission of Canada in Ghana in Accra. Ghana has maintained a diplomatic presence in Canada through its high commission in Ottawa. Ghana is also represented by consulates in Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal.

Trade relations

In 2023, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and Ghana reached over $380 million. Canadian exports totalled $281 million while imports from Ghana reached $99.8 million. The main Canadian exports included cereals, motor vehicles and parts, consumer goods and machinery. The main imports from Ghana included farm, fishing and intermediate food products, consumer goods, rubber products, forestry products and machinery.

Export Development Canada has designated Ghana as one of its key markets in Africa. Other organizations of interest with a presence in the country are the Canadian Commercial Corporation and the Canada Ghana Chamber of Commerce.

Development assistance

Canada was among the first countries to recognize Ghana’s independence in 1957 and established our first Africa bilateral development program in Ghana shortly thereafter. Since that time, Canada has provided more than $2.5 billion in development assistance in support of shared Ghanaian and Canadian priorities. Our focus over several decades on improving agricultural systems, livelihoods, and food security, particularly for impoverished rural communities in the north, resulted in 3,700,000 farmers, of which 1,600,000 supported on agricultural production with improved technologies, increasing their agricultural production and more than doubling their incomes. Canada is one of the top bilateral donors to the health sector in Ghana, focusing on health system strengthening, sexual and reproductive health, and nutrition. Over the last 5 years, our support has empowered 4 million people, of whom majority are women, to gain access to and use modern methods of contraception. Over 5 million people, including 500,000 adolescent girls, received services of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to end sexual and gender-based violence, such as rescue and legal support for survivors of gender-based violence. Over 1 million people benefitted from improved sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, including access to clean water and our nutrition programming, which reached 2.5 million adolescent girls, helped reduce the prevalence of anemia from 48% in 2022 to 43% in 2024.

Building on this long-standing partnership, Canada continues to provide significant development assistance in support of evolving priorities in line with the Ghana Beyond Aid strategy and Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, which totaled $116.7 million in fiscal year 2022 to 2023. Through local, Canadian and multilateral partners, Canada is helping to build the skills of young Ghanaian women and men in productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture and trade, and to grow business ideas into successful enterprises, particularly in key areas of the green economy. As part of this support, Canada’s partners actively address barriers to growth such as socio-cultural norms which constrain women’s full participation and economic empowerment, or lack of access to technical know-how, finance, and market linkages necessary for small business development.

Canada continues to play a catalytic role on supporting gender equality and women’s rights organizations. Thanks to the mobilization and advocacy led by Women’s rights organization, including Women’s Networks supported by Canada through the Women’s Voice and Leadership Program, Ghana’s Parliament passed the Affirmative Action Bill, to address the discrimination and exclusion of women in public and private spheres. Canada is supporting the implementation of this Bill to guide policymaking and program delivery in support of Ghanaian gender equality priorities and, in doing so alleviating poverty due to gender-based inequalities.

In addition, through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, support is provided to local Ghanaian organizations and initiatives to promote inclusive governance including diversity, democracy and human rights, as well as women’s participation in peace and security efforts.

Information on Canada’s international assistance in Ghana can be explored on the Global Affairs Canada Project Browser.

Peace and security

Canada provides training to the Ghana Armed Forces through the Department of National Defence’s Military Training & Cooperation Program, which aims to enhance the interoperability of peace support operations among Canada’s partners, and expand and reinforce bilateral defence relations.

In 2018, Canada and the Ghana Armed Forces announced the establishment of a bilateral training and technical assistance partnership through the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations in order to increase the Ghana Armed Forces’ deployment of women to UN peace operations. Ghana is also a member of the Elsie Initiative Contact Group.

Partnerships and organizations

To develop effective responses to today’s most pressing global challenges, Canada and Ghana work closely in multilateral fora, such as:

Date modified:: 2024-09-26

Language selection

Search