Mauritania-Canada: The Mauritanian Diaspora as a New Engine for a Trade Relationship in Need of Balance

Montreal, September 2026. In a room in the Quebec metropolis, a handful of Mauritanian businesswomen and businessmen lay the foundations of an institution destined to carry weight. The Mauritania-Canada Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CMCCI) is born with a conviction: the Mauritanian diaspora, more than 4,000 strong in Canada, is not merely a community—it is an untapped economic lever. The ambition is clear: to transform this presence into a commercial bridge between two countries that seem destined to be close, yet whose exchanges remain surprisingly unbalanced. The figures reveal the paradox. In 2024, merchandise trade between Mauritania and Canada reached 1.04 billion Canadian dollars. Mauritania thus ranks as Canada's fifth-largest trading partner in Africa. A remarkable performance for a country of fewer than five million people. But behind this apparent vigor lies a more troubling reality: gold accounts for the overwhelming majority of these flows. A single commodity, however precious, cannot sum up an economic relationship. It is this imbalance that the CMCCI intends to correct. For seasoned observers, this initiative comes at a pivotal moment. Mauritania, long seen as a transit country or a mere reserve of minerals, is seeking to diversify its partnerships and showcase its assets beyond extraction. Canada, for its part, displays a growing desire to strengthen its ties with West Africa, a region strategic both energetically and security-wise. The Mauritanian diaspora