(Ottawa) Relations with the United States and its unpredictable President Donald Trump will not be the only challenge in terms of foreign policy that Prime Minister Mark Carney will have to take up during his mandate.
Posted at 10:26 a.m.
Dylan Robertson
Canadian press
In only six weeks, Mr. Carney will be the host of his G7 counterparts in Kananaskis, Alberta. He will then have the chance to take stock of the main international problems and set the tone for debates between industrialized democracies.
The federal government wants its neighbor to continue to get involved within the G7, in particular due to the mutual interests of the two countries for maritime security on the continent.
G7 leaders could maintain “ghost fleets”, these ships which carry products subject to an embargo, sabotage against submarine cables, illegal fishing and the loss of biodiversity.
Canada must decide which country it intends to invite to the summit. South Africa, which will host the G20 summit in November could be invited. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already received an invitation.
A week later, the Prime Minister was expected to go to the Netherlands to participate in the NATO annual summit.
Europeans accused Trump of wanting to undermine the coalition by suggesting that the United States would not come to the rescue of countries that have not achieved their military spending targets.
Canada has never reached the target of military expenditure established at 2 % of its GDP by NATO in 2006.
Observers are concerned about the intentions lent to Russia to obtain more territories in Ukraine and to invade other countries, such as Latvia. Canada sent troops there to dissuade Moscow from attacking this Baltic country.
The European Union wants to increase its military spending and strengthen its military industry in order to be less dependent on the United States. Mr. Carney said he would like Canada to participate in the project named Rearm Europe. He also said that Canada was “the most European of non -European countries”.
Asia
China also wants to take advantage of Donald Trump’s intimidation methods to try to get closer to the country, even if Mr. Carney has already described Beijing as “the greatest security threat of Canada”.
Canada criticizes the Chinese authorities to tacit the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Chinese government has imposed customs duties in retaliation for the Canadian government’s decision to imitate Trump administration by limiting entry into the country of electric vehicles and steel from China. These new rights harm Western Canada farmers. Prime Ministers want to encourage Ottawa to do more to raise restrictions on canola and pork.
-But all trade between the two countries is not closed. China buys more crude oil from Canada. Beijing is the second largest trading partner in the country and wishes to increase collaboration between the two countries in sectors such as clean energy.
Mr. Carney prefers to play the card of prudence.
“We want to diversify our customers by trading with partners who think like us. The list of countries that share our values in Asia does not understand China. »»
Prime Minister Carney declared during the electoral campaign that he wanted to increase trade with India, a country that is currently cold with Canada.
“There are tensions that we have not caused, to be frank. However, there is a path to solve this problem with mutual respect, “he said on April 26.
His predecessor Justin Trudeau accused India of being involved in the murder in June 2023 of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an activist of the Sikh cause installed in British Columbia. The RCMP said that it had evidence of the involvement of the Indian authorities in many crimes targeting Canadian Sikhs.
A year ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India said that Canada represented “the biggest problem” in his country. In 2023, he claimed that the Canadian government had supported the Sikh independence movement.
The government of Narendra Modi has long leaned for the conservatives, even if the Indian Prime Minister quickly congratulated Mr. Carney for his victory.
Development assistance
Unlike many Western countries, Mr. Carney has promised not to reduce international aid.
“The time has come for Canada to open the way. Canada is a generous country for the most vulnerable countries. This has always been our role, ”said Mr. Carney.
However, it is unknown what the Canadian strategy will be in this area. The Trudeau government had undergone deep reproaches by revealing a new approach to aid to African countries which did not include new financing programs aimed at increasing investments and trade with this continent.
The leaders of Southeast Asia, they wonder if Mr. Carney will walk in the footsteps of his predecessor who participated in the annual summit of the Association of Nations of Southeast Asia. This region considers Canada as a strategic partner since 2023. It has demonstrated a keen interest in natural resources and the Canadian nuclear industry.
Mark Carney should not stand out from Justin Trudeau’s position on war in the Middle East. This policy was criticized by the Jewish and Muslims groups which criticize its vagueness. The war between Israel and Hamas gave rise to numerous demonstrations in the country and caused an increase in crimes of a hateful nature.
Like many other world leaders, Carney recently criticized Israel for blocked help from the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
During the campaign, Mr. Carney also pointed out the role played by Iran in the destabilization of the Middle East by supporting groups like Hamas.
