A look back at the last 12 months of Canadian diplomacy with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly
Posted at 12:43 a.m.
Updated at 5:00 a.m.
(OTTAWA) Canada will be ready in the event that former United States President Donald Trump confounds doubters again and wins the November 2024 presidential election.
What there is to know
The Trudeau government has an obligation to prepare for a return of Donald Trump to the head of the United States, according to Mélanie Joly.
The fault lines of international geopolitics have been accentuated with the war in Ukraine, believes the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Canadian diplomacy is turning to Asia, with which it wishes to have ties as close as those it maintains with Europe.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly argued in an interview with The Press that the Trudeau government had an obligation to prepare for such a scenario so as not to be taken aback if it were to materialize.
Among other things, M.me Joly plans to travel to Washington shortly to meet with elected Republicans and Democrats. It is already necessary to tighten the links with the members of Congress. She also intends to meet governors who are at the head of key states.
The idea of re-establishing a kind of Team Canada bringing together the premiers of the provinces, the mayors of the big cities, the groups of business people and the unions in order to defend Canada’s interests with the Americans, as was the case during Donald Trump’s four tumultuous years in the White House, is also considered.
Canada is not the only country to prepare for the possibility of such a scenario, assured the head of Canadian diplomacy. European countries are also doing it, she pointed out, drawing on recent exchanges she has had with some of her counterparts on the Old Continent.
“Yes, of course we have to be prepared for this possibility,” said Minister Mélanie Joly during the interview that took stock of the last 12 months of Canadian diplomacy.
“It’s important to prepare for it. In the coming months, I will really prioritize the relationship with the United States. It is obvious that we will adapt to the administration that will be elected, ”she added.
The result of the presidential election will certainly have an impact on the relationship with Canada, but also on the relationship that the United States will have with the rest of the world. It’s also a conversation I have with my colleagues around the world.
Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
During the tumultuous reign of President Trump, the Trudeau government had to work hard to preserve the major parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the face of the protectionist tendencies of his administration. A new agreement, known as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, was reached after several months of difficult negotiations.
“Important election”
Subsequently, the Trudeau government was able to quickly establish “a very good relationship” with the Biden administration in Washington as soon as it took office in January 2021. The president also made a first official visit to Canada in March – a visit which resulted in the signing of several bilateral agreements, particularly in the areas of energy transition, the manufacture of semiconductors and the closure of Roxham Road.
Justin Trudeau has already welcomed Joe Biden’s decision to run again for the presidential election. But a victory for the Democratic president is far from certain, despite the legal setbacks of Donald Trump, who is widely favored to win the Republican primaries.
“This will be an important election for the United States,” said Mr.me Pretty. In the meantime, the Minister of Foreign Affairs argues that Canada does not want to be a stage manager.
“The war in Ukraine has exposed fault lines in international geopolitics. These fault lines have widened. We must therefore defend Canada’s interests in a world facing profound upheavals without compromising our values. To achieve this, Canada’s influence must be increased. This is what I have focused on as head of Canadian diplomacy,” said the Minister.
Europe and Asia
These upheavals led to closer ties between Canada and the European Union. “More than ever, we are close to Europe,” said Mme Pretty. They also led to a concerted effort between Canada and the United States, not only on the war in Ukraine, but also on the growing influence of China and the crisis that still shakes Haiti.
Finally, they fueled the thinking that led to the adoption of an Indo-Pacific strategy. The Minister has also increased visits to Japan and South Korea as part of this strategy “to strengthen ties with these two countries”. “We should be as close to Japan and Korea as we are to Germany, France and Great Britain,” argued the Minister to illustrate Canada’s diplomatic ambitions with regard to these two Asian countries.
“The world has changed in a year. It is really important that we invest in our diplomacy,” she said.
At the multilateral level, we don’t want to be stage managers. We want to participate actively in the work of the UN. That’s why I started the campaign to get a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.
Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
With a larger budget – an additional $2.3 billion will be injected into the Indo-Pacific strategy over the next five years – the Minister pointed out that Canada had opened six new embassies in recent months, in Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Armenia, Rwanda and Fiji.
“Diplomacy is part of our security architecture. When you invest in diplomacy in a context of international crisis, it’s like investing in prevention for the health system. And diplomacy isn’t just talking to your friends. Diplomacy is also talking to countries you don’t always agree with, but who also believe in respecting each other’s borders,” said Ms.me Joly, referring in particular to China.
