Canada

US–Canada trade war will test not only economic strength but also political will. On the latter, Canada may have an advantage.

Tensions with the US and Alberta are leading Prime Minister Carney to back new oil and gas infrastructure. Smoothing the path to electrification would be a better use of public funds.

The US–Mexico–Canada agreement now faces a decade of annual reviews. But the fact that the treaty will remain in place during negotiations is the most important outcome.

The Canadian politician and diplomat tells Mike Higgins how Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at Davos in January on the ‘rupture in the world order’ has heralded a national hardening of attitudes to trade, defence and the future of Greenland.

Mark Carney visits Beijing hoping to diversify Canada’s economic partnerships. But trade with the US remains vital, even as tariffs bite and security worries about Donald Trump’s intentions grow.

Other western leaders need to respond to the reality that the United States under President Trump no longer wishes to work collaboratively with them on many of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Canada will work hard to resolve the dispute permanently – but the continuing tariffs threat will create pressure to reduce reliance on US trade.

As Trump consolidates his position as Republican front runner, Canada must prepare for his possible new administration to ensure access to the vital US market.

We asked experts around the world to tell us one issue that must be tackled at COP26. Here is what they have said.

The new parliament looks strikingly like the last, but the election had the curious effect of weakening every Canadian party leader not just Justin Trudeau.

Distrust and fear of Communist Party interference in society is rising across the world. Ciara Morris on the need to separate negative views of China with ethnicity

A ‘diplomatic romance’ between old friends ultimately reflects a convergence of interests – Canada and the UK have good reasons to gravitate towards each other.

The dispute over the arrest of a Huawei executive challenges both the nationalism and the economic stewardship that underpins the Communist Party’s legitimacy at home.

It would be a mistake to treat Ottawa’s disputes with China and Saudi Arabia as isolated aberrations.

Catherine Fieschi on how states use language policy to cope with diversity

Saudi reprisals for human rights tweets are greeted by silence, writes Mark Sedra

Celine Cooper on Justin Trudeau’s unprecedented move to legalize marijuana

A less orderly trade landscape will reward size and leave many countries, including the UK, with few good options.

Tales of hidden tensions

Jillian Stirk and Bessma Momani look at how Canada’s multicultural past is letting it buck the angry populist trend

Over the last six months with the global financial crisis at a peak, the G20 summits in Washington and London have eclipsed the Group of Eight (G8) – an elite club of industrialised countries often accused of being a talking shop. This year Italy presides over the G8, but the signs are that nothing much of substance will come from its summit in July and we may have to wait for Canada’s presidency next year to assess the relevance of this international grouping.

This paper assesses plans for investment in a sustainable economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, and examines how such efforts could transform international development cooperation.

In 2021 G7 leaders pledged to build back a better world. They now need to redouble their efforts to make sure that this ambition is fulfilled.

Canadian attitudes towards China have undergone a dramatic shift – from ambivalence to distrust – since the two countries became locked in a diplomatic dispute in late 2018. This paper argues that these hardened sentiments are unlikely to dissipate and Canada–China relations seem to have entered a new, warier phase.

Many middle powers have been warning of the dangers inherent in the decline of the liberal international order. The time has come for these countries to translate their warnings into concerted action.