The Canadian government quietly changed Turkey’s name to the official Turkish spelling Türkiye in all official communications.
The move follows a request from the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the international community to recognize the authentic spelling of his country’s name.
Last month, Ankara asked the United Nations to drop the commonly used spelling of Turkey, ” Turkey in English, which is also associated with the turkey and the traditional Christmas dish in the language of Shakespeare.
It is pronounced the same way.
In December last year, Mr. Erdogan ordered that “ Made in Türkiye be used on exported products to more authentically reflect the culture of the country.
In communications from Global Affairs Canada this week, Ottawa chose the authentic spelling.
The move follows an “official name change notification to the United Nations and subsequently to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada” in June, Global Affairs Canada said.
“Canada respects the wish of the Republic of Türkiye (formerly the Republic of Turkey) to be officially known as Türkiye as opposed to “Turkey” in English and “Turquie” in French,” said Sabrina Williams, spokesperson for Global Affairs.
The country was called Türkiye in 1923 after the newly formed Republic declared its independence, with Mustafa Kemal as its first president.
The country has increasingly imposed itself on the international scene, in particular with regard to the project of accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Mr Erdogan has threatened to veto the entry of Scandinavian nations into the military alliance if they do not extradite suspects with links to Kurdish groups.
Canada this week became the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO.
However, all 30 members must approve their application for membership following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.