ottawa –
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will leave the world stage with a legacy of promoting feminist causes and focusing on Asia, with criticism that Canada’s actions fall short of the government’s rhetoric.
“There was a huge disconnect between what they were saying and what was actually happening on the ground,” said Roger Hilton, a researcher at the Bratislava-based Canadian Institute for Global Affairs.
Prime Minister Trudeau announced Monday that he would resign after the Liberal Party holds a leadership election at an undetermined date and prorogues parliament until March 24.
Hilton noted that Trudeau took office in 2015 at a time when Europe was reeling from Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the downing of a Malaysian Airlines jet over Ukraine.
Hilton said there is a “hunger to get Canada more on the international stage” to strengthen international rules that Moscow objects to and collectively fight climate change.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has accelerated global inflation and tested the unity of European nations in the face of sabotage and covert assassinations.
“The world is really on fire,” he said. “There are many reasons why Canada needs to strengthen its cyber infrastructure and supply chain. And there are always reasons why that doesn’t happen.”
Hilton said Canada has made a difference since 2017 by leading NATO’s military deployment in Latvia, training Ukrainian troops and defending Ukraine in international forums.
“Canada has provided significant financial support. Canada is one of the most vocal countries on the world stage,” he said.
But Hilton said many Europeans feel Ottawa could have done more to counter Russian influence. The most common laments are Canada’s failure to meet NATO’s defense spending target of 2% of GDP and insufficient military aid to Ukraine.
Ottawa ranks high among allies in humanitarian aid, but relatively low in military aid.
“The issues around defense spending are really hurting us in terms of credibility with our allies,” he said.
“Fundamental investment in NORAD has been very delayed,” he added, referring to the United States’ North American Joint Air Defense.
The Liberal Party announced its Arctic foreign policy just a few weeks ago. They recently promised to finally release an Africa strategy after years of considering whether to pursue it and temporarily downgrading the project to framework status.
The Senate warned that Canada, whose demographics and resources have put the continent on the path to economic boom, risks losing its historic reputation as a reliable partner of Africa.
Bina Najibulla, vice-president of research at the Asia Pacific Foundation, said Prime Minister Trudeau encouraged Canada’s focus on the Indo-Pacific region, but struggled to achieve some of his goals.
“There are pros and cons to Canada’s place on the world stage,” she says. “It’s going to be a difficult period for any government to navigate.”
Najibullah said the government is acutely diagnosing the complexities and threats facing Canada, but has a mixed track record in implementing and financing the response.
For India in particular, relations with Canada are at an “all-time low.” This is largely due to allegations that Indian diplomats were behind murders and serious crimes in Canada, but also to long-standing issues such as trade irritants.
Prime Minister Trudeau’s 2018 visit to India was sparked by scandal after his family dressed in ceremonial attire and when his team invited a man with a criminal record to an event during the trip. It was widely seen as shameful.
In Southeast Asia, Canada is strengthening its relationships with growing economies, partnering in areas such as nuclear power, naval security and fisheries management.
But Ottawa is also struggling to find its place amid growing competition between China and the United States, and has also struggled to forge stable relations with China after two Canadians were detained for years. There is.
These tensions were most evident at the G20 summit in November 2022, when Chinese President Xi Jinping rebuked Trudeau in a meeting filmed in Indonesia.
Najibullah pointed out that the Trudeau government never released a comprehensive foreign policy strategy.
“The West and the G7 are having to contend with a more fragmented world, so our overall soft power and position in the world is declining,” she said.
“We are still very good at building relationships and understanding how complex certain countries are becoming, especially India, China, and of course Brazil and other countries around the world, the growing middle powers. We have not made any significant investments.”
This is likely why the Liberals failed to win a seat on the UN Security Council in 2020, years after criticizing their Conservative predecessors for doing the same in 2011. Probably.
Robert Huesch, a professor of international development at Dalhousie University, said Canada’s need for support on a range of issues on the world stage, rather than clearly defined priorities, has led to an increased focus on development issues. He said that one reason was that there was no such thing.
He added that the government’s opaque response to allegations of foreign interference by China may have encouraged cross-border crackdowns by countries such as India.
“It was painful for Canadians, but it exposed our weakness on the world stage, with other adversaries and allies following suit,” he said.
Mr. Huthi said Trudeau was one of the last Western leaders in office before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to many incumbent MPs losing their votes. He said that this resulted in his resignation.
“When Mr. Trudeau came on the scene, we were the stars,” Huesch said. “In fact, it has given way to a kind of defensive posture, which puts Canada in a very difficult position internationally.”
Still, Trudeau has been praised by development organizations such as the Equality Fund for focusing on women and LGBTQ+ people in overseas aid projects and for including gender issues in trade deals.
Canada will host the G7 this year, and if political leaders can save enough energy from political turmoil and do some preparatory work, this is a “great opportunity to show leadership and advance our country’s interests.” Najibulla says.
That will require whoever takes office to have a consistent strategy on issues such as extracting critical minerals and dealing with U.S. threats to impose harmful tariffs.
“Given the turmoil we’re facing, it’s important to have a government and political leadership that has a strong mandate from Canadians, and that’s something other countries are also taking note of.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2025.
