Canada: International relations, defense and foreign policy December 2024-

G7 Canada 2025
Canada – U.S. November 2024-7 February 2025
Canada – U.S. 10 February 2025-

17 May
Carney meets with Zelensky for first time, asserts support for Ukraine
(Canadian Press via Globe & Mail) Prime Minister Mark Carney reaffirmed Canada’s “steadfast and unwavering support” for Ukraine in his first meeting with the country’s president on Saturday in Rome.
His meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky was one of several sit-downs with world leaders taking place in the Italian capital, where Carney – a devout Catholic – has travelled to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. The Prime Minister is making a concerted effort to meet with other G7 leaders ahead of the global summit Canada is hosting in Kananaskis, Alta., next month.
Carney said he’s looking-forward to hosting Zelensky at the G7 meeting next month.
The Prime Minister also met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at her official residence earlier in the day.
He was greeted with a red-carpet reception at Chigi Palace – a 16th century building which once hosted a concert performed by a teenage Mozart in 1770 – with a 50-member Italian honour guard standing in formation as a band played the Italian and Canadian national anthems.
This weekend’s trip marks Carney’s first foreign visit since his win in last month’s federal election.

28 April
What Liberal Mark Carney’s election win in Canada means for Europe
Katerina Sviderska, PhD Candidate in Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge and Leandre Benoit, PhD Candidate in Politics, University of Oxford
(The Conversation) As some European countries and the United States head towards isolationism, authoritarianism and turn to the East — even flirting with Russia — Canada’s continued Liberal leadership reinforces its position as a key ally for the European Union. Carney’s centrist and pro-EU attitude provides stability and relief for Europeans.
From defence to trade and climate, Canada and the EU share deep economic and strategic ties. With a Liberal government, these connections will strengthen, offering both sides what they need the most: a reliable, like-minded partner at a time of transatlantic unpredictability.
Carney’s election offers new momentum for Canada-EU collaboration. His “blue liberalism” brings Canada ideologically closer to Europe’s current leadership — from Emmanuel Macron’s centrist France to the Christian Democratic Union-led coalition in Germany — providing fertile ground for pragmatic co-operation.
Trade remains the foundation of the Canada-EU relationship, and both sides should aim to build on it. At the heart of this partnership is the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which has increased EU-Canada trade by 65 per cent since 2017.

21 April
Could Canada join the EU? Unlikely … but not impossible.
EU scholars say Canada has the right vibe for Brussels — but there would be some major hurdles blocking a membership bid.
EU membership isn’t on the ballot in Canada’s crucial election later this month — but polling shows Canadians are intrigued by the idea of joining the bloc.
As U.S. President Donald Trump upends the relationship with his northern neighbor via a blizzard of punitive tariffs and belligerent social media posts, Canadians are wondering if they should cozy up to new, more reliable allies
Enter Brussels. …

25 March
US war plans leak shows Five Eyes allies must ‘look out for ourselves’, says Mark Carney
Signal blunder likely to put strain on Five Eyes as it weighs how Trump administration handles classified information

2 March
Trudeau staunchly defends Zelenskyy as London summit on European security wraps up
(CTV) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Moscow can’t be trusted in any agreement to end its invasion of Ukraine, as European leaders craft plans to rely less on Washington and protect the continent from more incursions by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trudeau said it could lead to Canada joining a new military coalition aimed at upholding an eventual peace in Ukraine, but the outgoing prime minister added that others will have to make such a decision.
“Vladimir Putin is a liar and a criminal, and cannot be trusted to keep his word in any way, shape or form. Because he has demonstrated time and time again that he will break any agreements,” Trudeau said Sunday.

25 February
Jeremy Kinsman: Canada’s ‘Iron Diplomacy’ in Ukraine: This Week in Anti-Trumpism
(Policy) Trump seems attracted to an alternative-world concept of three dominant spheres, where, as Michael Ignatieff described in the Financial Times Jan 19, “the writ of the new international order no longer runs, and where power over the global economy has devolved to three zones of influence: the Chinese in East Asia; the Russians in Eurasia; and the Americans, with an exclusive sphere of influence in the western hemisphere, stretching from Greenland in the Arctic to Chile at the southern tip of Latin America.”
Canadians say, “Hell, no.”
So do Europeans, now determined to intensify greater self-reliance in security, infrastructure, and services with which Canada should associate. Trudeau said this week that Canada could join European partners in a Ukraine security force. Germany and Norway are undertaking an electric submarine construction program and would welcome Canadian participation. Nordic and Baltic states are advancing Arctic cooperation that would be nourished by partnership with Canada, making the “true North strong and free” an international undertaking.
We need to be clear-eyed protagonists in our own fate. By telegraphing potential withdrawal from global cooperation in the UN, the G-20, and the G-7, Trump’s nationalist US administration has already taken the side of the autocrats in what is now a well-established systemic shift.
But it has opened a void Canada can help to fill, in concert with like-minded partners from every continent. Humanism must not slink off the international stage in deference to the show-off advocates of nationalist predation.

24 February
Trudeau visits Ukraine to mark 3rd anniversary of Russian invasion
Trudeau says ‘everything is on the table’ when it comes to putting boots on the ground to enforce peace deal
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, along with other Western political leaders, to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It is an important, symbolic moment and comes less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump’s public attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom Trump dismissed as a “dictator.”
Trudeau opened the summit pledging to give 25 light-armoured vehicles to Ukraine and to provide the country with the first payment of the $5 billion in funds from seized Russian assets.

18 February
Canada’s foreign minister says she gave Europe a ‘wake-up call’ on threat Trump poses to Canada
(CBC) Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly concluded a week-long trip to Europe Tuesday where she said it was her job to tell Canada’s European allies just how much of a threat U.S. President Donald Trump is posing to Canada on a security and economic front
Joly said that Europeans have not spoken out loudly against U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Canada or saddle our economy with tariffs because “Europe has its own challenges” in dealing with Washington.
… Global Affairs Canada confirmed later Tuesday that Canada has been invited, and will take part in, the second French summit on Ukraine and European security…held in Paris on Wednesday and will include European nations not invited to the first summit.
Canada interested in ’being involved in protecting Ukraine’ after war, Joly says
‘We can’t let Russia go unchecked,’ Joly said, arguing that ending the fighting on Moscow’s terms would only encourage Russia to further destabilize Europe
(National Post) She says that while Europeans are receptive to the idea of closer ties with Canada, many are unaware of the extent to which the Trump administration is challenging Canada’s economy.
Joly is heading to South Africa for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, where she will try to determine how Canada’s position chairing the G7 might reflect the priorities of the larger G20 group.

6 January
Andrew Coyne: With the country under attack, Trudeau leaves it to drift – for months
At one point the Prime Minister mused “we are at a critical moment in the world.” He got that much right, not least where Canada is concerned. The country is under assault on several fronts: by China, by India, by Russia, but most of all, incredibly, by the United States, whose president-elect has, for no sensible reason, declared economic war on us.

2 January
Why Canada should join the EU
Europe needs space and resources, Canada needs people. Let’s deal
(The Economist) …As it turns out, both Europe and Canada may be in the market for upgraded alliances. Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20th brings with it the prospect of tariffs and jingoistic bluster. Nerves are jangling on both sides of the north Atlantic. Places on the fringes of the European Union are rethinking their ties to the club. Switzerland has agreed to a closer alliance, and Iceland will hold a referendum in 2027 on joining. Greenland, which left the EU in 1985 after gaining autonomy from Denmark, might consider rejoining, given Mr Trump’s obsession with it. But Canada may have the most to fret about. Mr Trump is goading his neighbour by suggesting it is about to become America’s 51st state and referring to its prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau”. Officials from Ottawa and EU capitals have been trading notes on how to handle another bout of Mr Trump. Charlemagne, who enjoys both European and Canadian heritage, has a ready solution to both places’ woes: the EU should invite Canada to become its 28th member.
The (not entirely straightforward) case for CanadEU predates Mr Trump. It is, in short, that Canada is vast and blessed with natural resources but relatively few people, while the EU is small, cramped and mineral-poor. …

Canada set to preside over G7 in 2025 amid political instability at home and abroad
Canada will host G7 leaders’ summit in Alberta in June
(Canadian Press) Canada is set to take over the presidency of the G7 in 2025, leading a forum of seven of the world’s most advanced economies at a time of political instability at home and around the world.
The rotating presidency involves a series of meetings across the hosting country for senior officials of G7 countries, who co-ordinate policies ranging from defence to digital regulation. Some meetings involve civil society groups, business leaders and organized labour.
… Sen. Peter Boehm, a former diplomat who played a central role in Canada’s participation in the G7 for decades, said it’s a key tool for Canada to exert influence and safeguard economic and security interests. “Our participation in the G7 is is potentially the jewel of the crown of our foreign policy,” he said.
15 October 2024
G7 countries looking at stronger measures to fight foreign interference: LeBlanc

2024

RCMP, partners gear up for major security effort ahead of 2025 G7 Summit in Kananaskis
Lessons learned from hosting world leaders summit in Kananaskis in 2002 to inform planning for 2025.

6 December 2023
Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
More than a Vocation: Canada’s Need for a 21st Century Foreign Service
Are Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the Canadian foreign service fit for purpose? This is the question that prompted the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (the committee) to conduct the first substantive examination of the Canadian foreign service in more than 40 years. The global environment has changed dramatically since 1981 when the Royal Commission on Conditions of Foreign Service published its report, not least because of globalization, new geopolitical alignments, and technological advancements.

8 December
Statement on the situation in Syria
Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:
“Canada welcomes the end of the Assad regime in Syria, a regime that has inflicted decades of suffering on its own people. This event marks a significant turning point for the Syrian people, who have endured unimaginable hardship under the rule of Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez al-Assad. …”

6 December
Ottawa unveils new policy for what it now calls the ‘North American Arctic’
Robert Fife
Canada will begin security talks with allies to protect the Arctic from military and economic challenges posed by Russia and China under a new Arctic policy unveiled Friday that also includes working more closely with the United States.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly worked on the strategy for more than a year as Canada and allies bordering the Arctic grapple with China gaining a major foothold in the region through its alliance with Russia. They’re also dealing with climate change, as melting ice opens up new shipping routes and mineral exploration.
The policy introduces a new framing of the Arctic. It calls the region the “North American Arctic” 13 times in the document, an apparent stress of how important co-operation with the United States and its military will be.
As The Globe and Mail reported last year, China, although it has no territory fronting the Arctic, is rapidly building up its presence in the region through Russia. Moscow is facing a severe budget crunch from its military assault on Ukraine, and increasingly relies on Beijing and unprecedented levels of Chinese corporate and state investment to develop the area. China’s northernmost tip is still located about 1,500 kilometres from the Arctic.
25 August 2023
Ron Huebert: China is on a relentless mission to control Canada’s Arctic waters