Spain's King Felipe VI leads three-day economic mission to Canada, signing AI cooperation deal in Toronto

King Felipe VI of Spain undertook an official three-day visit to Canada, 19-21 May 2026, his first stop being Rideau Hall in Ottawa where Governor General Mary Simon received him on 19 May (per the Governor General's official notice) and where Prime Minister Mark Carney also met him; Carney posted that it was 'an honour to welcome His Majesty King Felipe VI to Ottawa,' citing 'centuries' of Canada–Spain ties now a 'strong partnership in trade, security and defence.' The King travelled with First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo and Secretary of State for Trade Amparo López Senovilla. The visit's core was economic: the Spain-Canada Business Summit at the MaRS Centre in Toronto, where officials signed a Memorandum of Understanding on artificial intelligence cooperation.

Per the official Canadian description, the MOU establishes a framework to advance Canada–Spain cooperation in AI, including enabling access to compute capacity, fostering AI and technology adoption, deepening connections across government and industry, and supporting the safe and responsible development and use of AI; Canadian Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon participated. The King also lunched with the Business Council of Canada.

Outlets framed the trip against Canada's drive to diversify partnerships toward Europe amid trade tensions with the United States, with Spain stating an aim to deepen and roughly double bilateral trade. Cultural elements included Felipe presenting the 3rd Joan Margarit International Poetry Prize to author Margaret Atwood at Victoria University, a federated college of the University of Toronto, and a nostalgic 21 May return to Lakefield College School in Ontario, where he studied in 1984-85.