The latest crisis to shake the planet, Hamas’s terrorist attack against Israel last weekend, has provided one more indication that Canada is increasingly being left out of its allies’ joint actions.
In a joint statement following the attack, leaders of a subgroup of five of the G7 countries, known as the Quint, expressed their “steadfast and united support to the State of Israel” and their “unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism.” The signatories included the United States, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.
The five leaders noted that their countries would “support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities.”
A statement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the Oct. 7 attack said that “Canada unequivocally condemns these terrible attacks in the strongest possible terms.” Although the Oct. 8 statement said Canada “reaffirms its support for Israel’s right to defend itself, in accordance with international law,” it made no mention of supporting Israel’s defence.
The Epoch Times reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment on the joint statement but didn’t hear back by publication time.
Conservative MP Michael Chong criticized the government for not being part of the joint statement.
“The Government should have ensured Canada was part of this effort,” Mr. Chong, who serves as his party’s foreign affairs critic, said in a statement. “Canada is increasingly left out of critical defence and security initiatives with our closest allies. One has to conclude that this Government is seen to be an increasingly unreliable partner.”
Diplomatic Shocks
The crisis in Israel comes shortly after two events involving Canada that made headlines around the world.A Ukrainian-Canadian veteran of the Nazi shock troops Waffen-SS was recognized and honoured in the House of Commons on Sept. 22, immediately after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had addressed the House. This in effect handed a propaganda victory to Russia, which claims its invasion aims to “de-nazify” Ukraine.
A few days prior, on the first day the House of Commons reconvened after the summer break, Mr. Trudeau took the unprecedented step of rising in the House and accusing India of killing a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R), U.S. President Joe Biden (C), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (3rd R), Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (3rd L), and other world leaders arrive to pay respects at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Raj Ghat on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, on Sept. 10, 2023. LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
India has called the allegations “absurd and motivated” and retaliated by putting a stop to issuing visas for Canadians and reportedly asking Ottawa to reduce in-country diplomatic staff by two-thirds.
The government has yet to provide evidence to back Mr. Trudeau’s claim and has apparently only spoken through intermediaries about the matter. Government officials have leaked some context on the intelligence to the press, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says there is “clear” evidence of India’s involvement after being briefed on the issue.
Washington and London, both seeking stronger ties with New Delhi, initially offered words of support to Canada but have not put pressure on India.
Later, U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen attempted to bolster Canada’s case by saying intelligence informing Mr. Trudeau’s allegations came from the Five Eyes alliance. This suggests the United States and UK know at least part of what Canada has on India.
Alliances
The Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partnership, formed in the 1950s, includes the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Canada joined as it was coming off a strong contribution in World War II efforts, including involvement in the training of allied agents for clandestine operations at Camp X in Ontario.Fast forward 70 years and new security alliances are forming, but Canada is largely being left out.
In 2021, the United States, the UK, and Australia announced the creation of the AUKUS security partnership, identifying two main areas of work. One is to support Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, and the other is enhancing joint capabilities and interoperability in fields such as cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence.
In explaining why Canada wasn’t included in AUKUS, Mr. Trudeau said in 2021 that the country was not in the market for nuclear submarines. This is despite Canada’s fleet needing to be replaced and nuclear submarines having the requisite characteristics to patrol the Arctic.
Last May, then-minister of defence Anita Anand said Canada was interested in sharing advanced defence technology with allies but stopped short of saying whether a formal bid would be made to enter AUKUS.
Security researchers noted in March that Canada, as a member of core security alliances and a country straddling three oceans, should have a seat at the table.
“Canada—the country with the world’s longest coastline, bordering the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic Oceans, founding NATO ally, member of both the Five Eyes partnership and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)—has been nowhere to be found in AUKUS discussions,” says the researchers in a piece published by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The glacial pace at which Canada appears to be adapting to the realities of modern great power competition has left it far behind the curve, with consequences for both Ottawa’s reputation among its allies, and its ability to protect Canadian territory, sovereignty, and contribute to global peace and stability,” said the authors, which include Mr. Trudeau’s former national security and intelligence adviser Vincent Rigby.
The researchers added that Canada was apparently simply not invited to join its allies in the pact. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CTV News last June there’s no plan to open a spot for Canada.
Countering China
AUKUS aims to play a role in countering China in the region, with Australia serving as an important nearby base, although the alliance hasn’t been publicly framed as such.Another Pacific alliance aimed at containing China but that doesn’t include Canada is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, made up of the United States, Australia, Japan, and India.
New Zealand, South Korea, and Vietnam, meanwhile, have participated in dialogue toward a “Quad-Plus” arrangement.
Leaders of member countries met for the first time in Washington, D.C., in September 2021, and a joint statement spoke of a shared objective for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
This specific term, a policy concept in support of the rules-based international order and freedom of navigation, has been promoted by Japan and the United States, but the term doesn’t appear in Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy released in November last year.
Nevertheless, the policy document says that Canada’s “evolving approach to China is a critical part” of the strategy and that China is an “increasingly disruptive global power.”
Researchers from the Center for Strategic and International Studies call the strategy “light on substance,” citing the modest increase in military involvement and investments it entails.
With Canada almost certainly being unable to constructively engage with India in the near term given the public accusations, Ottawa will have to turn to other powers in the region to advance its agenda.
Canada saw its standing upgraded to a strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in early September, and it revolves around promoting security in the region. However, there are limits to what can be achieved on sensitive files with a broad range of countries, half of which aren’t democracies.
Aside from working through multilateral forums, Canada could turn to allies like Japan and Australia to enhance bilateral cooperation.
The United States has been deeply involved with Japan since the aftermath of World War II, initially leading the allied occupation from 1945 to 1952 and then building an alliance, but it has amped up cooperation with Australia in recent years.
“We have no greater friend, no greater partner, no greater ally than Australia. And I don’t think that alliance or partnership has ever been stronger, at least in my experience,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said while visiting Australia in July.
Focus
In a recent Globe and Mail op-ed addressing Canada’s world standing, Perrin Beatty, former defence minister under Brian Mulroney and current CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, along with two political scientists, raised the controversies surrounding India and the honouring of a former Nazi in Parliament“We got here because Canada’s foreign policy has too often become purely performative, embracing ear-candy sound bites designed to make Canadians feel good about themselves rather than putting in the hard work of crafting policy for an unpleasant and increasingly dangerous world,” they wrote.
“It has been a long time since we’ve engaged in an honest assessment of how our country performs on the international stage, and why we are increasingly seen by others as unserious.”
Mr. Trudeau’s visit to India in 2018 was widely panned due to his many appearances wearing traditional Indian garb and the fact that the visit didn’t substantially advance relations between the two countries.
Relations started to take a turn for the worse during Mr. Trudeau’s trip to New Delhi for the G20 summit last month. During a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Trudeau raised the allegations of India’s involvement in the June killing of Sikh secessionist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
At the end of a tense visit to India, Mr. Trudeau was asked by reporters what Canada had contributed to the final G20 summit declaration.
“As always, Canada is a strong voice for inclusion of gender language, inclusion of indigenous reflections,” he said.
“All throughout we made sure that countries around the world are focused on growing the economy in inclusive ways and creating opportunity and prosperity for everyone in a more peaceful, more secure world.”
Reuters and the Canadian Press contributed to this report.
