Canada's foreign policy during 2018

(Shutterstock / Tamara Cerqueira)

It seems that Canada is ending 2018 with fewer friends and this is certainly becoming more evident. In fact, it is no secret to anyone that Canada is currently more isolated on the world stage than it had been in previous decades. For some, this may be due to an indifferent southern neighbor and the emergence of isolationist and populist leaders in other parts of the world.

Do not leave aside an important factor and that is that during this year 2018, the government of Justin Trudeau has faced various challenges. They have been many and they have also been really complex.

Likewise, it has been suggested that most of the foreign policy challenges are the result of what Andrea Charron, of the University of Manitoba, calls a “massive change” in the geopolitical landscape.

For his part, Charron, who is director of the Center for Defense and Security Studies of the university, expressed with precision “China and Russia are exercising more economic and military influence than at any time since the Cold War.” Saudi Arabia is exercising an unprecedented power in the world”.

And in the same way, he added, “Canada must be more strategic about how it behaves on the world stage”.

Canada on the world stage

There are some facts that must be brought up, because of what the impact they have created means. Among them, it could be mentioned that Saudi Arabia ordered 15,000 Saudi students to leave Canada. It also stopped direct flights to and from Canada and froze new business and investments.

In addition to this, one could mention the fact that China erupted in fury earlier this month. This was because Canada stopped the Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou, at the request of the Americans. Those who seek the extradition of Meng on charges of bank fraud and who violate US sanctions against Iran.

Meanwhile, Canada’s isolation extends to its continued confrontation with China, according to Kim Richard Nossal, who said “In each of those cases, it is clear that nobody has the back of Canada” and likewise added “In that sense, Canada is completely alone, we did not see any of Canada’s traditional friends and allies leaving and standing up against Canada”.

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Source: Chris Hall | CBC News