Which specific countries have social security agreements with Canada and when did each come into force?
Executive summary
Canada maintains bilateral social security (totalization) agreements with more than 50 countries to coordinate pension and related social security benefits and avoid double contributions for workers who live or work in both countries [1] [2]. The federal government publishes a table and a machine-readable dataset listing each partner country together with the date an agreement came into force; specific entry dates vary by treaty and must be read on the official treaty list or Open Government dataset for authoritative, country-by-country effective dates [1] [3] [4].
1. What the agreements do and why the dates matter
Canada’s international social security agreements are designed to eliminate cases where a person would otherwise have to pay into two pension systems for the same work and to ensure periods of coverage in one country can be counted toward eligibility in the other [1] [2]; the “effective date” or “entry into force” of each treaty controls when those coordination rules and counting of prior periods begin to apply for claims and certificates of coverage [1] [5].
2. Where to find the authoritative list of partner countries and their entry dates
The Canadian government directs users to the Global Affairs Canada treaty list and maintains an Open Government dataset that provides the names of countries with agreements and the dates those agreements came into force, along with form numbers and administrative details for certificates of coverage and detachment periods [1] [3] [4]. For working through eligibility or administrative steps, the Canada Revenue Agency’s CPP/International Social Security Agreements pages explain application procedures and link to the country-specific texts and forms [2].
3. Examples from the official corpus (illustrating variety of entry dates)
Concrete examples in the public record show that agreements span decades and cover diverse partners: the Canada–Chile agreement officially came into force on June 1, 1998 as proclaimed in Canada’s justice publications [5]; Canada and the Netherlands signed an updated agreement at Brantford on June 27, 2001 (the treaty text and signature date are recorded in the Government of Canada treaty database) [6]; and the reciprocal agreement with Australia is referenced in federal Old Age Security regulations as being signed on July 4, 1988 [7]. These examples demonstrate that some instruments are older bilateral “reciprocal” agreements and others are later updates or protocols, and that signature dates and official entry-into-force dates may differ [6] [5].
4. Why a single enumerated list is not reproduced here and how to get precise dates
While the sources confirm that Canada has agreements with over 50 countries and point to an official table of countries and effective dates, the provided reporting in this briefing does not include a complete, extractable list of every country plus its exact in-force date ready for verbatim republication [1] [3] [4]. The definitive, country-by-country effective dates are in Global Affairs Canada’s treaty search and the Open Government dataset “Canada’s social security agreements with other countries,” which should be consulted to compile a full, current list and to capture any recent entries or protocol changes [1] [3].
5. Caveats, competing views and administrative realities
Treaties can be signed, later amended by protocols, and only enter into force after each party completes internal procedures; proclamations (as with Chile) show that the “entry into force” can be months after signature and may include retroactivity rules for assessing periods of coverage [5] [6]. Administrative practice matters: Canada’s CRA and provincial authorities administer certificates of coverage and detachment rules in practice, and the United States and other partners publish parallel guidance—illustrating that treaty operation is both legal text and cross-border administration [2] [8] [9]. Advocacy groups and advisors emphasize checking the exact treaty text and effective date because benefit entitlements and portability hinge on those precise dates [10].
Conclusion
The authoritative answer to “which specific countries and when” is published by the Government of Canada in its treaty list and the Open Government dataset; Canada has agreements with over 50 countries and individual treaties have diverse entry‑into‑force dates [1] [3] [4]. For a complete, date-stamped roster consult the Global Affairs Canada treaty search or the Open Government data portal and examine individual treaty texts and proclamations for precise effective dates and any protocol amendments [1] [4].