On November 6, 2015, the newly elected Prime Minister went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he was cheered by enthusiastic officials, who were happy to take selfies with Justin Trudeau to celebrate the departure of the Conservatives. Eight years later, these same civil servants must regret the Harper era and their embraces with the Liberal leader. If we analyze Canada’s place and reputation in the world today, we must conclude that we are far, very far from the Nobel Prize for the Trudeau government.
Recognized for its duty of reserve and its long tradition of non-partisanship, the ministry has seen several civil servants abandon “their neutrality” to occupy political positions in ministerial cabinets. Canada is back ! Canada is back on the international scene, a praised Justin Trudeau told us at the time. The agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that of the Trudeau government were then merged into one. No need to hide your allegiances anymore.
Justin Trudeau then promised to do better and obtain a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Canada, in fact, received less support in 2020 than under Stephen Harper in 2010.
Certainly, there were the years of President Trump. But with the Democrats returning to power, the Canada–United States relationship under Joe Biden promised to reach new heights. President Biden announced the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in May 2022, bringing together 13 partners. Canada is absent. There was no room for a fourteenth seat?
Canada was also excluded from an Indo-Pacific security alliance called AUKUS in September 2021 by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to support Australia in the face of China’s expansion. in the Pacific.
Canada’s relationship with China, under Trudeau, is marked by naivety. Justin Trudeau really thought he could conclude a free trade agreement with China, an agreement that the Conservatives had ruled out before him. China responded with a painful dismissal.
It must be said that the Canada-China relationship was already bad before the Meng Wanzhou episode and the imprisonment of the two Michaels. Ditto for its relationship with India before the revelations of the Indian government’s involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
If the relationship between Canada and India is so frosty under Justin Trudeau, it is because his delegation in 2018 included a more than dubious guest, Jaspal Atwal, convicted of trying to kill Indian Minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu, on Vancouver Island in 1986.
Jaspal Atwal had been invited by a Liberal MP, Randeep Sarai, who took the blame for this unfortunate invitation. The Prime Minister’s office, for its part, denied any responsibility. Does this remind you of something ? A former Nazi applauded in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Parliament in Ottawa, perhaps?
It is fascinating to note the same reflexes and narrative mechanisms in these two failures. In both cases, a press release from the Prime Minister’s office told us that he knew nothing about this invitation sealed without his agreement. The repercussions are also the same: embarrassment, shame, scandal with, ultimately, a tarnished image of Canada.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper traveled to the Canadian Arctic every summer to observe the Nanook military exercises. Justin Trudeau has broken with this tradition used to assert our sovereignty. We are told that we must help Ukraine defend the integrity of its territory, but it would be nice if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did the same at home.
In foreign policy, we must also give ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions. This includes military spending and modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Seven years of indecision surrounding the purchase of the F-35 planes resulted in a return to the position defended by… Stephen Harper.
Ironically, it was the Trudeau government that gave a contract to the GDLS factory in London, Ontario, for armored vehicles for Ukraine. If the Harper government had not won the $14 billion contract, the London plant would have been closed and Justin Trudeau, ultimately, would not have been able to make his announcement to Ukraine.
If Canada is back, one must conclude that it is in the shady ways of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
What happened in the House is very serious. The embarrassment for Ukraine is immense. However, the Prime Minister was slow to present his apologies and those of Parliament to Mr. Zelensky and his people. It’s not like he’s been reluctant to act contrition in the past. But it has almost become a habit with him. Not only does he read the world poorly, but when he does, it’s late.