Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has signed an agreement that will now allow drivers to mutually exchange their driving licenses between Ireland and Ontario.

Ontario is the most populous of Canada’s ten provinces, and has the largest number of Irish residents.

“This agreement will allow them to exchange their Irish driving licenses for Ontario licenses, rather than having to register as learner drivers,” Varadkar said about Ontario’s Irish residents in a recent press release.

The agreement will also allow people from Ontario who live and work in Ireland to do the same.

“This process has involved a great deal of work, and I particularly want to thank the Road Safety Authority and the Irish Embassy in Canada, as well as the authorities in Ontario,” he said.

Varadkar had asked the RSA to prioritize Ontario upon discussion of Irish exchange arrangements with Canada. “[Now] it should be possible to reach speedy agreements with the other Canadian provinces,” he believes, following the success of the Ontario agreement.

This agreement will eliminate the grueling process of applying, testing and being approved for a license for thousands of people, most notably Irish citizens living and working in Ontario.

The agreement will be counter-signed and given effect in Ontario soon.