In January 2022, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs used a fake term for the Persian Gulf during a series of tweets.
The Iranian Canadian Congress protested this issue in various ways and shared this protest with the members of the Canadian Parliament.
Last week, Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia,MP, sent the official response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada to Mr. Mohammad Vahidi Rad, a member of the Board of Directors of the Iranian Congress of Canada.
In an official letter, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Ms. Melanie Jolly, while acknowledging the permanent name of the Persian Gulf in her official letter, in a way explained the tweet of the Foreign Affairs  to a physical border and emphasized that the federal government also uses and will use the term Persian Gulf in their communications regarding the body of water. 

در ماه ژانویه 2022 وزارت امور خارجه کانادا در طی یک رشته توئیت از عبارت جعلی برای خلیج فارس استفاده کرد.
کنگره ایرانیان کانادا از طرق مختلف به این موضوع اعتراض کرد و این اعتراض را با نمایندگان پارلمان کانادا نیز در میان گذاشت.
هفته گذشته، آقای فرانسیس اسکارپالجیا، یکی از نمایندگان کهنه کار پارلمان کانادا، پاسخ رسمی وزارت خارجه کانادا به اعتراض آقای محمد وحیدی راد، عضو هیات مدیره کنگره ایرانیان کانادا را به ایشان ارسال کرد.
وزیر امور خارجه کانادا خانم ملانی جولی طی یک نامه رسمی ضمن اذعان به نام همیشگی خلیج فارس در نامه رسمی خود، به نوعی عمل سال گذشته وزارت امور خارجه را به مرز سیاسی تشبیه کرد و تاکید داشت که دولت فدرال نیز از عبارت خلیج فارس استفاده می‌کند و خواهد کرد.

In a tweet published on 24 January 2022 on the subject of recent escalations in the Middle East, Foreign Policy CAN (the official Twitter account for Global Affairs Canada) has used the false term “Arabian Gulf” in reference to the Persian Gulf. 

“Persian Gulf” is the only historically accurate, legally valid and internationally recognized name for the body of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. This name has been widely and globally used for over two millennia, as evidenced by thousands of historical maps from across the world. 

In its 2006 report, the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names acknowledged the legitimacy of the name Persian Gulf, citing “6000 maps and more than 200 historical and tourism books from Irastus to Herodotus to Estakhri and Ibn Houghal, who have all called the water body, Persian Gulf” and concluding that “any change, destruction, or alteration of the names registered in historical deeds and maps is like the destruction of ancient works and is considered as an improper action.” 

The term “Arabian Gulf,” on the other hand, is a product of propaganda efforts of some politicians who used it for their political gains by exploiting ethnic tensions in the region and rallying political support for their territorial ambitions. The use of such a term by an official social media account of the Government of Canada is deeply regrettable. Not only is this language diplomatically inflammatory and risks stoking already heightened tensions in the region, but it is also highly offensive to the Iranian-Canadian community.  

Altering significant geographical names that inform the identity of a community amounts to the erasure of that community’s culture and history, which goes against the Canadian Government’s official commitment to multiculturalism. Thus, the Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) urges Global Affairs Canada to remove the divisive and misleading statement from its official channels and ensure that the historically accurate name, “Persian Gulf”, be used in all official statements and documents.