Canada to virtually host fifth ministerial meeting of the Ottawa Group on WTO reform
As the World Trade Organization comes under heightened strain due to increasingly protectionist global actors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada is brining together 12 other members of the Ottawa Group in order to work towards building consensus around WTO reforms. Canada will host the Ottawa Group’s fifth ministerial meeting on June 15. Members of the […]
Ottawa Group has opportunity to revive WTO modernization
This month International Trade Minister Mary Ng is planning to host a virtual meeting of the Ottawa Group of 13 like-minded states dedicated to modernizing the World Trade Organization (WTO), after the Group’s March in-person meeting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The need to modernize the WTO has been with us for some […]
Don’t forget who got us into this mess with China
BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA—Amidst the fallout of the recent ruling against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou on May 27, Canada is bracing for a deepening estrangement from an indignant China. Understandably, Canadians are angry at China’s draconian measures of retaliation. Angry that two Canadians—Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor—have been held without charges for nearly 18 months as pawns […]
Canada should re-examine U.S. relations, ‘pursue its own future’ in face of Trump’s pandemic response, say foreign policy and trade experts
Canada should respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies for the COVID-19 pandemic by becoming more self-reliant, manufacturing more of its own essential supplies, and “recalibrating” its relationship with its southern neighbour, say foreign affairs experts and a parliamentary critic. “America is putting itself first, which is natural. Why shouldn’t we behave in […]
Post-pandemic world presents real opportunity to change U.S.-Canada relationship, experts say
As the November U.S. presidential election approaches, with the prospect of a second-Trump term a real possibility, and the COVID-19 pandemic upending life on both sides of the border, some Canadian foreign policy experts say they expect the fallout from the pandemic will have a lasting effect on the bilateral relationship and the post-pandemic period […]
Responding to COVID-19 with the border we have
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven policy change as dramatically as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States did. And in both cases, the U.S.-Canada border has been a focal point. On March 18, in response to predictions of a rapid spread of this coronavirus strain, the United States and Canada jointly announced […]
Look to the new NAFTA for the roadmap to the future of the Canada-U.S. bond
Canadian leadership needs to move beyond COVID-19 border controls and turn to implementing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement. In what is already a divisive U.S. election, we must also avoid anything that could be construed as interference. The Nov. 3 elections will decide not just the presidency, but also, crucially, one-third of the Senate plus […]
For better or for worse, the future of Canada-U.S. relations will evolve
In 1939, distinguished Canadian historian Arthur Lower opined that Canadians and Americans were bound together in so many ways that they “resemble a married couple, who must take each other for better or for worse.” The ensuing years have brought their significant ups and downs, but the relationship has endured. Some U.S. administrations, such as […]
Liberal actions are eroding the special Canada-U.S. relationship
The relationship between Canada and the United States has been one of the closest the world has ever known. From fighting side-by-side on the European front, to forming NATO, to NORAD, to creating the largest free-trade zone in the world via NAFTA, the integrated nature of the relationship is incomparable anywhere in the world. However, […]
Canada’s next trade battle: consensus building at the WTO
As an embattled international trading system is further strained by some countries’ protectionist instincts, the Canadian government continues to try to build consensus over needed reforms at the World Trade Organization amid COVID-19, but some experts say progress won’t be made until after the next U.S. election as the American government is not currently engaging […]
