Embassy Ottawa - Canada
About the Dutch embassy in Canada
The Dutch embassy in Canada is located in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, in the province of Ontario. The embassy represents the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Canada. Besides the embassy in Ottawa, there are consulates-general in both Toronto and Vancouver. We also work with honorary consuls in every province of Canada.
The city of Ottawa
More than a million people live in the Greater Ottawa Area. Canada is a bilingual country. English and French are the official languages. This is most evident in Ottawa, the federal capital. The city is located on the border between Ontario and the province of Quebec.
Landmarks of Ottawa
Ottawa is well-known for its cultural institutions, including the Museum of History, the Canadian War Museum, the National Gallery of Canada and the National Arts Centre. These are all unique institutions with which the embassy likes to work in partnership. Ottawa also has two leading universities – the University of Ottawa and Carleton University.
The Canadian identity is strongly linked to Canada’s geographical location. Canadians like to say that their country is the ‘true North, strong and free’ – and with good reason. Many Canadians, including the residents of Ottawa, have a strong attachment to the wintry climate. Winter in the Canadian capital lasts for around four months. The city is generally snowbound from mid-December to mid-April.
Our team
The Dutch embassy in Ottawa is medium-sized. We have 14 permanent members of staff in our enthusiastic team.
Together, we raise the Netherlands’ profile in Canada and continually draw attention to the ties of friendship between our two countries, and to our shared values and history. We maintain close contact with Canadian ministries, government institutions, non-profit organisations and a wide variety of Canadian stakeholders active in the political, economic, defence and cultural fields.
Margriet Vonno is the Dutch Ambassador to Canada. Paul van Oostveen is the Deputy Head of Mission. Lt. Col. Mark de Wit is the Defence Attaché and Wendy Sewell is the Defence Attaché’s Assistant. The policy team consists of Wouter Frencken, Laurens van der Sluijs, Boz Kasravi, Jeanine de Vos, Taylor Heaven and Melissa Rumble. Maarten Derksen heads the General Affairs and Consular team, with Marie-José Tienhooven and Robert Hijman. Silvia Holtrop is our Management Assistant. Stefan Janhager is our Facility Officer.