The Canadian government tacitly changed the name of Turkey to the official Turkish spelling Türkiye 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 drop the commonly used spelling of Turkey. Turkey in English, which in the language of Shakespeare is also associated with the turkey and the traditional Christmas dish.

It’s pronounced the same way.

In December last year, Mr Erdogan ordered that ” Made in Turkiye be used on exported products to more authentically reflect the country’s culture.

In communications from Global Affairs Canada this week, Ottawa chose the authentic spelling.

The move follows an “official notification of the name change to the United Nations and subsequently Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development” in June, Global Affairs Canada said.

“Canada respects the desire of the Republic of Türkiye (formerly Republic of Turkey) to be officially known as Türkiye, as opposed to “Turkey“in English and ‘Turquie’ in French,” said Sabrina Williams, spokeswoman for Global Affairs.

The country was named Türkiye in 1923 after the newly formed republic declared independence with Mustafa Kemal as its first president.

The country has increasingly asserted itself on the international stage, particularly with regard to the project of Finland and Sweden joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Mr Erdogan has threatened to veto Scandinavian nations from joining 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 have to approve their application for membership after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

To see in the video