Canada announces its intention to open an embassy in Rwanda. The announcement comes a few days before the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will be held in Kigali.

Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Rwanda has been the center of much international attention since the war and genocide
of 1994. The country is an active member of the United Nations, having presided over the Security Council during part of 1995 and again in 2013–2014. Africa and Canada had few contacts before the twentieth century. A small number of Africans were taken as slaves to Canada during the Atlantic slave trade. However slavery in Canada was not a major part of the economy or social system.

The 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, also known as CHOGM 2022, will be the 26th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. The meeting was originally scheduled for 26–27 June 2020 preceded by various fora between 22–25 June, but was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 31 January 2022, it was announced that the meeting would be held on 24 and 25 June 2022 and the pre-meeting discussions held from 20 to 23 June.

Canada will open a high commission in Rwanda as part of efforts to combat the influence of Russia and China in Africa. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced this after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in the country to begin a 10-day foreign trip. In Kigali, Trudeau will take part in meetings with Commonwealth leaders and roundtable discussions on the climate economy. Prince Charles and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are also scheduled to attend the gathering. According to the Melanie Joly, Canada is setting up a permanent high commission in Kigali, with an ambassador, and will also name a new ambassador to the African Union, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.