Diplomatic embarrassments, disturbing allegations and latent conflicts: Canada has been in the spotlight around the world in 2023, and not always for good reasons. Overview of the skirmishes that drew international attention to the country.
India: in the dock for homicide
The unease was so palpable during Justin Trudeau’s visit to New Delhi, on the occasion of the last G20 summit, that it was illustrated on the front page of the daily Toronto Sun. The Prime Minister of Canada revealed the reason, in the House of Commons, in September: “credible” allegations link India to a murder committed on Canadian soil.
The Modi government reportedly had Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh leader from British Columbia, shot and killed in late spring. The allegation prompted an order to expel an Indian consular employee and intelligence agent from Canada, sparking a diplomatic crisis that remains unresolved.
No new evidence has been revealed regarding this crime, but the credibility of the Indian trail was reinforced in November when the United States also accused an Indian agent of having plotted to commit the irreparable on its soil. The Modi government is this time suspected of having wanted to kill a Sikh separatist activist from New York who was on the same blacklist as Mr. Nijjar.
The most populous country in the world saw one of its former diplomats claim on television that Justin Trudeau’s plane had transported a shipment of cocaine. The aircraft, the victim of an embarrassing breakdown at the end of the summit, instead carried in the hold a wooden box set with brass engravings, the final gift offered to the Canadian Prime Minister during this cursed trip.
Russia: a former Nazi fighter given a standing ovation
No MP, senator or journalist knew it at the time, not even Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, but the special guest applauded in the stands of parliament had actually served under Adolf Hitler. On the evening of September 22, the Ukrainian president ended his visit to Ottawa without suspecting that his visit to Canada would become this unexpected gift for the propaganda of the Russian enemy.
The gaffe, which cost the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, his job, occurred after well-attended speeches by Justin Trudeau and, above all, Mr. Zelensky. The attention of the audience was at its lowest after the speech by the President of the Senate, Raymonde Gagné, but we had been instructed to stay in place until the very end of the protocol ceremony.
The scandal only broke two days later. Jewish organizations noticed with horror that the old man greeted by President Rota and applauded by all, Yaroslav Hunka, had taken up arms on the side of the Nazis 80 years earlier. Headlines around the world were not indifferent to the misstep.
Among the outraged reactions, that of the Russian embassy in Ottawa did not fail to make the amalgam between the “glorification of Nazism” and Canada’s support for the kyiv regime. Motivated by war propaganda, the embassy highlighted the event in a rambling essay of nearly 12,000 words, published on its website, which attempts to demonstrate that Canada is a deeply racist and complacent country. Nazism.
Israel: the anger of the Prime Minister
“It is not Israel that deliberately targets civilians, but Hamas that has beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated against Jews since the Holocaust,” thundered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , on the X network on November 14.
This publication on social networks was not insignificant: the head of state was speaking directly to none other than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The rebuke came just after Mr. Trudeau urged Israel to protect civilian life in the war.
While in British Columbia, the Canadian Prime Minister called on Israel to “exercise the greatest restraint” in Gaza in its war with Hamas, saying that the deaths “of women, children and babies” must stop.
“It is Hamas, and not Israel, that should be held responsible for having committed a double war crime: targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians,” Netanyahu then replied.
Justin Trudeau’s tone gradually rose after the first month of war. A month later, the government finally supported a resolution calling for a “lasting ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip — a radical shift in Canada’s position since the start of the conflict.
The Prime Minister’s about-face was not to Israel’s liking. Even if relations between the two countries remain “generally healthy”, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, described the vote in favor of the UN resolution as “very disappointing”.
China: attempts at interference
As if there weren’t enough problems between Canada and China, the year 2023 began with a curious story of a drifting balloon. The Chinese balloon, suspected of having spied on American military bases, also entered Canadian territory at the end of January.
The balloon was shot down by an American plane in the Atlantic Ocean and ultimately gathered no intelligence. This saga was quickly followed by a revelation of the Globe and Mail according to which China attempted to influence the election of the Liberals at the end of the 2021 general election.
Although Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that only Canadian voters had decided the results of this election, constant pressure from the opposition led to the launch of a public inquiry.
Allegations of Chinese interference in the country have spread around the world, receiving coverage from the BBC, Wall Street Journal and several other renowned media.
After a long wait, the Trudeau government this fall appointed Judge Marie-Josée Hogue, of the Quebec Court of Appeal, to investigate attempts at interference by China and Russia.
China’s response was quick, with a spokesperson for its embassy accusing the Canadian government of “continuing to exaggerate the lies of so-called ‘interference by China in Canada’s internal affairs’.”
Relations between Beijing and Ottawa could continue to generate much ink, with Judge Hogue’s first report expected in 2024.
United States: its web giants wronged
A sense of déjà vu emerged from negotiations between the top trade negotiators from Canada and the United States this year. On at least three occasions in 2023, Trade Representative Katherine Tai defended American web giants in front of her Canadian counterpart, the Minister of International Trade, Mary Ng.
Washington is particularly against the Trudeau government’s plan to impose a 3% tax on digital services. Justin Trudeau assured that President Joe Biden had not exerted pressure in this trade conflict, but his government still postponed the January 2024 deadline to cash out the giants of online commerce and social media. or advertising on the Web.
It’s not just a question of tax. The American government said at the start of the year that it was concerned about the Canadian bills, which it said risk “discriminating against American companies” and compromising the free sharing of news and services online. Bills C-11 (Online Streaming Act) and C-18 (Online News Act) finally received royal assent in 2023.
This latest law, officially in force since December 19, caused a purge of news on Facebook and Instagram feeds in Canada. Absolute failure was averted thanks to a $100 million media funding compromise wrested from Google, another California-based site. As for the Online Streaming Act, the CRTC is giving itself the entire coming year to analyze criticism from YouTube and other platforms before establishing regulations that will force the promotion of Canadian content online.