Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Leo Varadkar yesterday (July 9, 2014) signed an agreement that will allow Irish people living in Ontario, Canada to swap their driving licences for Canadian ones. The agreement will benefit people forced to leave Ireland in search of work who would have otherwise had to register as a learner driver in the most populous province in Canada. "I'm very pleased we have reached this agreement with Ontario and which has been sought for some time by Irish people living in the Province," commented Mr Varadkar. "Ontario has the largest number of Irish residents of any Canadian province and this agreement will allow them to exchange their Irish driving licences for Ontario licences, rather than having to register as learner drivers. When I asked the RSA to open discussions on exchange arrangements with the Canadian provinces, I asked them to prioritise Ontario due to its high number of Irish residents."
Anything else?
With the Ontario deal set to come into regulation within the next fortnight it paves the way for similar agreements with other Canadian provinces meaning Irish licences could become a thing of the past throughout Canada.