In a world where international relations are once again destabilized by new disruptive forces, Canada can once again be a beacon of hope, justice and a chance for peace. We must recommit to that framework as the hallmark of our foreign policy.
Our foreign policy framework will reclaim Canada’s historical role as a leader of peace and justice.
-
Recommit to Canada's Foreign Policy System’s core values of peace, mediation, and diplomacy. This involves:
- Recruiting and empowering talent: Focus on attracting top-tier diplomats, experts in international law, conflict resolution, multilateral negotiations, and peacebuilding specialists to serve in key positions in Canada's foreign affairs infrastructure.
-
Prioritizing diplomacy over military intervention: Emphasize Canada’s role as an honest broker of peace, by steering clear of unnecessary military entanglements, especially in conflict zones where diplomacy can lead to long-term stability.
-
Be prepared to deal with threats to security. Si vis pacem, para bellum - this adage, dating from the Roman Empire, reminds us that if we want peace, we must yet prepare for war.
- Defense spending. Ensuring our Defense spending meets the 2% target set by NATO and that our Canadian troops have access to the best training and equipment in the world sends a clear signal to other nations that Canada is prepared to defend our national security and our allies’ security if it should come to that.
-
Border Defense. Ramping up our Arctic Defense capacity and protecting access to our crucial energy, mineral and water resources as well as securing a strong border presence are critical to our national sovereignty.
-
Reposition Humanitarian and Development Aid towards self-sufficiency and sustainable development to ensure that aid becomes a tool of empowerment and self-sufficiency. This means a review of programs to ensure that they are compliant with this objective and are not ideologically-based.
- Empowering local civil society: Supporting grassroots organizations to address local challenges and strengthen capacity to help foster political stability and resilience.
-
Promoting economic independence: Helping countries build sustainable economies by investing in infrastructure, trade, and job creation. Foreign aid should focus on creating economic opportunities, particularly in sectors like education, health, and clean energy, that will enable countries to thrive on their own.
-
Strengthen International Institutions: At a time when international institutions like the UN, WHO, and WTO are under threat from populist and nationalist movements, Canada has a moral obligation to defend and strengthen these bodies.
- Supporting multilateralism: Canada can become an advocate for multilateral diplomacy, ensuring that global challenges like climate change, health pandemics, and geopolitical instability are addressed collectively, rather than unilaterally.
- Reforming global governance structures: By working to reform and modernize institutions like the UN to better reflect current global power dynamics, Canada can help ensure that these institutions remain capable to respond to contemporary challenges.