Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived at Montreal's airport on Sunday (August 21), where he is expected to sign a deal to establish hydrogen supply chains with Canada during his two-day visit as Berlin accelerates its green transition to reduce dependence on Russian gas supplies.
Footage showed Scholz being greeted by Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and other officials after his arrival.
With fears that Russia could completely shut down already heavily reduced gas flows in retaliation for Western sanctions following its special operation in Ukraine, Scholz will also discuss the prospects for Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries to Germany, the German officials said on Thursday (August 18).
However, they cautioned this would not offer a solution for this winter when Germany is facing a possible gas shortage, nor next, as the infrastructure is not yet in place.
This is Scholz first official trip to the North American country. Along with Economy Minister Robert Habeck and with a large business delegation in tow, Scholz will visit Montreal, Toronto, and the small, remote windswept town of Stephenville on the eastern island of Newfoundland.
While Scholz hopes to deepen economic cooperation with Canada, the war in Ukraine will be among other topics under discussion.
Top of the agenda is an agreement on hydrogen the chancellor will sign with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Stephenville, where there are plans to build a plant that will use wind energy to produce the fuel for export, the officials said.
On Tuesday (August 23), Scholz will deliver a speech at the German-Canadian economy conference in Toronto, a gathering focused on energy security, future technologies, and automation before the delegation heads to Stephenville and flies back to Germany overnight.
