Canada to change spelling of Turkey to ‘Turkiye’ following UN move
Global News
The Turkish government has been asking the international community to ditch the spelling of "Turkey," which is also associated with the edible bird and traditional Christmas dish.
The Canadian government has quietly changed the name of Turkey to the official Turkish spelling Turkiye in all official communications.
The move follows a request by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government for the international community to recognize the authentic spelling of his country’s name.
Last month Ankara asked the United Nations to ditch the commonly-used spelling of Turkey which is also associated with the edible bird and traditional Christmas dish.
It is pronounced the same way.
In December last year, Erdogan ordered that “Made in Turkiye” be used on exported products to more authentically reflect the country’s culture.
In communications from the Global Affairs department this week, Ottawa reverted to the authentic spelling.
The move followed an “official notification of name change to the United Nations and subsequently, to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada” in June, Global Affairs said.
“Canada respects the wishes of the Republic of Turkiye (formerly the Republic of Turkey) to be formally known as Turkiye as opposed to ”Turkey“ in English and ”Turquie“ in French,” said Sabrina Williams, a Global Affairs spokeswoman.