Canada has not had a formal diplomatic presence in Iran since 2012, and as of February 2026, the Canadian government has stated that restoration of ties would require a change in the Iranian regime.
Canada has imposed significant, autonomous sanctions on Iran for over 15 years, with the first "Made-in-Canada" sanctions established in July 2010, with the newest sanctions implemented in early 2026.
On 8 January 2020, a Boeing 737-800 was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after takeoff killing all 176 occupants on board, including 57 Canadians. Canada has sought legal action against Iran through the International Court of Justice "in pursuit of accountability and full reparation".
In June 2024, Canada officially designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization under the Canadian Criminal Code.
The Canadian government has officially abstained from joining in U.S.-led Israel war in Iran.
History
Prior to 1955, Canadian consular and commercial affairs in Iran were conducted through the British Embassy to Iran. Foreign relations and diplomatic ties between Canada and Iran began with the founding of an Iranian mission in Ottawa in 1956, and a Canadian mission in Tehran in 1959. The Canadian mission was granted embassy status in 1961.
Rupture of relations under Khomeini Formal relations between the two nations continued uninterrupted from 1955 until 1980. When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's Iranian Revolution drove the Shah from the country in 1979, the Canadian Embassy scrambled to evacuate the 850 Canadian workers in Iran while the embassy staff remained. Six American diplomats took refuge in the Canadian embassy after Iranian student protesters stormed the U.S. embassy, and the Canadian government, in coordination with the Central Intelligence Agency, safely evacuated them from the country using Canadian passports with forged Iranian visas. This covert rescue became known as the "Canadian Caper", and while it improved Canada's relations with the United States, Canada–Iran relations became more volatile. The embassy staff were quickly evacuated for fear of retribution against Canadians, and the embassy was closed in 1980.
Resumption of diplomatic relations under Khamenei From 1980 to 1988, under Brian Mulroney, Canada and Iran did not have diplomatic ties, though relations were not formally severed. The Canadian government was reluctant to reopen an embassy, both because of the history, and given the Iranian government's history of kidnapping and torturing diplomats. In 1988, the two governments agreed to resume diplomatic relations at a low level, and the Canadian embassy in Tehran was re-opened.
Due to rocky relations after the Iranian Revolution, Iran did not establish an embassy in Canada until 1991. Its staff, which had been living in a building on Roosevelt Avenue in Ottawa's west end, moved into 245 Metcalfe Street in the Centretown neighbourhood of Ottawa, and the mission was upgraded to embassy status. In Tehran, the Canadian Embassy had been located at 57 Shahid Sarafaz Street and Ostad Motahari Avenue. The mission was staffed by a chargé rather than a full ambassador.
During the tenure of prime minister Jean Chrétien, the nations formally exchanged ambassadors in 1996. Canadian concerns over human rights abuses in Iran, its record on nuclear non-proliferation, Holocaust denial and threats to destroy Israel, and its active opposition to the Middle East peace process led to a policy of "controlled engagement" by Canadian diplomats. Bilateral ties were restricted, such as preventing direct air links between the two countries or the opening of Iranian consulates and cultural centres in Canada (other than the embassy in Ottawa).
Canada has also continued to express its concern about human rights in Iran, and in particular, issues such as the independence of the judiciary, arbitrary detention, freedom of expression, treatment of women and treatment of persons belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, including Iran's small remaining Jewish community, and members of the Baháʼí Faith.
2003: Zahra Kazemi Relations between Canada and Iran drastically deteriorated in June 2003 when Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer from Montreal, was arrested while taking pictures outside a prison in Tehran during a student protest. Three weeks later, she was killed while in custody.
Iranian authorities insisted that her death was accidental, claiming that she died of a stroke while being interrogated. However, Shahram Azam, a former military staff physician, stated that he examined Kazemi's body and observed obvious signs of torture, including a skull fracture, broken nose, signs of rape and severe abdominal bruising. This information was revealed within Azam's case for seeking asylum in Canada in 2004.
Kazemi's death in Iranian custody attracted widespread international attention.Ebadi, Shirin with Azadeh Moaveni (2006). Iran Awakening. New York: Random House, p. 199 Because of her joint citizenship and the circumstances of her death, the tragedy generated considerable protest. In November 2003, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression honoured Kazemi with the Tara Singh Hayer Memorial Award in recognition of her courage in defending the right to free expression.
Canada drafted a United Nations resolution to condemn human rights abuses in Iran, expressing concern for Iran's use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, particularly the practice of amputation and flogging. In response and to shift the focus, Gholamhossein Elham, the Iranian judiciary spokesman, responded by claiming, "The Canadian government has the worst, most backward and racist judiciary system." Iran further accused a Canadian police officer of gunning down 18-year-old Iranian Kayvan Tabesh on July 14 in Vancouver. The police officer claimed self-defence after the teenager allegedly charged at him with a machete. Iran also presented a 70-page report before the adoption of the resolution, detailing alleged human rights abuses in Canada in an attempt to discredit the main backer of the resolution.
In another incident, a prominent Canadian-Iranian blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, was detained by police in Tehran in 2008 over remarks he made about the Shiite faith, according to the Iranian Judiciary.
2005: "Controlled engagement" and United Nations Resolution 1737 On May 17, 2005, Canada tightened its controlled engagement policy by limiting talks with Iran to four subjects: Human rights situation in Iran; Iran's nuclear programme and its compliance with non-proliferation obligations; The case of Zahra Kazemi; Iran's role in the region.
In October 2005, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a speech at a conference entitled "The World Without Zionism". During the speech he made comments that were widely interpreted as anti-semitic by the Jewish community and the Western world in general. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin summoned the Iranian ambassador in Canada and gave a formal reprimand.
On December 26, 2006, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1737, demanding that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment program or face economic sanctions. On February 22, the Governor-in-Council made new regulations under the United Nations Act: Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolution on Iran. Together with existing relevant provisions of the Canada Shipping Act, the Export and Import Permits Act, and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, these provisions allowed Canada to bring economic sanctions against Iran as requested in resolution 1737. The sanctions include a ban on any trade that could contribute to Iran's activities in enrichment, reprocessing heavy water, or the development of nuclear weapons delivery systems. The regulations also deal with freezing assets and notification of travel by Iranian officials in Canada.
In June, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the Islamic Republic News Agency that Canada was "hiding some spies at their embassy in Tehran and allowing them to escape". Mottaki told the IRNA that he warned his Canadian counterpart at the UN General Assembly in 2005 that "Canada should be aware of its limits and realize what country it was dealing with." On November 30, 2006, the conservative-dominated parliament in Iran accused the Canadian embassy of being a "den of spies" for the United States and launched a query to investigate. Iranian MPs met with the Iranian Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie to discuss the charges.
In 2007, moves to warm relations between the two countries occurred with the Supreme Court in Iran calling for another review of the death of Zahra Kazemi, and an attempt to again exchange ambassadors. Canada rejected two Iranian candidates after Canadian intelligence suggested they may have been involved with the radical student uprising that stormed the U.S. embassy in 1979. Iran then refused to review the credentials of the Canadian candidate John Mundy, an act which Canada's foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier claimed was "retaliation for Ottawa's rejection of Iran's top choices". Mundy was later expelled from Tehran.
2010: Economic sanctions
In 2010, amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act of 2004 restricted financial transactions and economic activities between Canada and Iran that are considered beneficial to the Iranian government. In response to the Act, Toronto-Dominion Bank closed a number of accounts of Iranian-Canadian customers to comply with the sanctions.
Having already imposed a series of trade sanctions in 2012, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird imposed additional bans and froze all remaining trade with Iran. This came at a time when bilateral trade was worth around C$135 million (US$130 million). This was enacted in protest the Tehran's nuclear ambitions and human rights record. Baird was quoted as saying, "The absence of progress ... leads Canada to ban effectively immediately all imports and exports from Iran". Statistics Canada's data for 2012 reveals exports to Iran were worth around C$95 million, mostly consisting of cereals, oil seeds, and fruit, as well as chemical products, and machinery. Iranian exports totaled C$40 million, with fruits, nuts, and textiles being most prevalent. Baird delivered his message to an approving audience in Washington at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Baird won an extended standing ovation for reiterating the government's view that Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon is the most dangerous threat to global security.
While Baird's premise is to increase pressure on it until its government either surrenders or collapses, the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany have taken a different approach. They are committed to negotiation with Iran's current government, and are willing to accommodate legitimate Iranian interests. Their aim is to settle the nuclear issue, reintegrate Iran into the international economy, and support Iranian reform. Their approach is fully consistent with support for Iranian human rights. In 2003, after years of patient negotiation between Iran and the European Union, Iran agreed to all of this and also made a direct overture to the United States. The agreement lasted until 2005, when Ayatollah Khamenei became convinced that Europe was negotiating in bad faith and only acting for the United States, who remained unambiguously hostile.
2012: Baird severs diplomatic ties