Canada in the World History and International Affairs

Canada is one of the most prosperous countries of Western civilization. After the discovery of America, astonished Europeans who were dissatisfied with the state of affairs at home, whether in Germany, Ireland, Portugal or France flocked to the New World. This has been going on for centuries, and the process is still continuing. Then, a few centuries ago, the former Europeans sought to create a new world, to become a new nation, and they succeeded. The proof? The development of the law, borderless Canadian passport, the development of democracy and the level of freedoms.

It puts Canada among a dozen or so similarly successful countries. Usually Canada is ranked alongside Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), Northern Europe (Netherlands, Germany), and Commonwealth countries like Australia and New Zealand. You may open any random ranking, from media freedom to the human development index, and you will see that this is almost always the case.

In addition, Canada, the second largest country in the world, has never ruled colonies, but with such a large and noisy neighbor as the United States, Maple Leaf country has an image of a peaceful and neutral country and, to be honest, Canada has essentially never had a reputational loss.

International Relations and the point of view

Nevertheless, Canada, though an independent and sovereign country, is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It could be said that Canada is a member of a large family where the head of the family is already old and does not influence kids much. Everyone has grown up, and everyone is already content. The fact that Canada belongs to the British Crown forms the fundamental basis of Canadian identity and the Canadians' worldview.

In general, Canada's world view coincides with that of its main partner, its neighbor and sister the United States of America, the countries of United Europe and major Commonwealth countries. It is impossible to imagine the world today without UN, NATO and IMF and it was Canada one of the countries to launch those organizations as well as many others, including the World Health Organization, the Organization of American States, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Canada is also a member of prestigious informal clubs, such as the G7 and the G20. The G7 has no charter or secretariat, but regular meetings allow coordination of joint nationwide actions to achieve stable peace and prosperity for the citizens of all countries.

Canada's strongest international ties remain with the United States and the United Kingdom. The U.S. is the largest trading partner, Canada supplies more than 50% of the country's production there, and together with Mexico they formed NAFTA in the early 1990s for closer economic exchange, where restrictions for member countries are kept at a minimum level. Today NAFTA is become into USMCA.

As for Great Britain, the relationship with the former metropolis is not a problem for present-day Canada, but it is a source of discontent for many Canadians. According to opinion polls, about half of Canadians are strongly convinced that depending on a country from another continent in the twenty first century is just not okay. For others, Britain and the Commonwealth are an essential part of their identity. Politically, Canada has no problem with Britain.

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Canada is cautious and unambiguous on the world stage. It does not hide its leanings and dislikes, does not disown its allies, and supports everyone who fight against its oppressors.

Canada in world politics

Canada's history of World War I began on the side of the Entente countries, including Great Britain, in 1914. Canada also participated in World War II alongside of the Allied forces, declaring war on Germany on September 10, 1939. When the Cold War began, Canada had no hesitation to which world it belonged to: In the "struggle for hearts and minds," as President Truman named it, Canada was faithful to the values of the capitalist world confronting socialism.

Today, as always, Canada defends democratic values and capitalist interests, and makes financial commitments to promote global stability and maintain peace in an era of "creeping third world war," as Pope Francis said, rogue nations, the threat of nuclear weapons and the spread of international terrorism.

The face of Canada on the international stage is the prime minister. Currently (May 2023) it is Justin Trudeau. The country's governor general, or deputy to King Charles III, is Mary Simon. They almost always advocate that Canada should always behave cautiously and pragmatically on the world stage and refrain from excessively divisive or belligerent actions that might undermine the country's reputation and harm its inhabitants. They try to maintain the image of a calm, peaceful, friendly nation. But when it comes to obvious atrocities and violations of international law, Canada will not be silent about crimes against humanity.

After signing the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and birth of the Commonwealth of Nations Canada stated conducting its own international policy.

As we have said before, Canada participated in World Wars I and II, and during the Cold War was ally of the United States. Gradually, however, Canada began to move away from open confrontation, remaining on the periphery for the USSR and America. Its main concern was domestic policy and over decades of the twentieth century, by concentrating on domestic issues, Canada managed to overcome most of the challenges that many countries face today and managed to become one of the most successful countries in the world.

After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Canada maintained trade and economic ties with the government of Fidel Castro (1926-2016), becoming one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Island. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. declared an embargo on Cuba, plunging the country into a severe food and financial crisis, but Canada continued to be Cuba's partner.

The Cold War continued, and the Cuban Missile Crisis was one of its "hot" stages. The next major challenge was the Vietnam War (1965-1973), which dragged Canada's main neighbor for many years into a conflict that it was never able to win. As with the Korean War (1950-1953), Canada resisted American callings to send militarily troops and help "beat Communists."

21st century and peacekeeping missions

Canada did not participate in the Iraq War (2003-2011), launched by allies Great Britain, France and the United States to overthrow the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein. Those days more than 200,000 people protested in Montreal against waging the war.

In 2013, as a result of negotiations, Canada and the European Union signed The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). According to many experts, it eliminated up to 98% of the tariffs and restrictions between the EU and Canada. Canada became even more involved in the West Atlantic civilization.

For a long time, the idea that Canada was first and foremost a peacemaking country was one of the most revered ideals in the country, celebrated. This principle was being celebrated everywhere: national holidays and monuments, beer commercials and the ten dollar bill.

During the Suez crisis of 1956, when Britain, France and Israel invaded Egypt after that country's nationalization of the Suez Canal, it was Lester Pearson, the Canadian representative to the UN, who tried to create a special peacekeeping force to resolve the conflict.

In the decades that followed, Canadian soldiers under UN leadership served in several other peacekeeping missions inspired by the "Suez experience," notably in the Congo (1960-1964), Syria (1974-2014) and on Cyprus (1964). Paying homage to Pearson's original vision, these Canadians serve as mediators, not gunfighters. Canada protect its soldiers.

The peacekeeping mission is an unprecedented success for Canada's image in today's politics. Canada cannot practically be accused of being politically unscrupulousness. By remaining a member of international organizations and alliances, Canada maintains its independence as a country and the lives of its soldiers.

Beginning in the 1990s, however, Canada began to accept fewer and fewer peacekeeping actions, in part because the reputation of the United Nations began to decline due to a series of failed missions in Somalia (1992-1995), Rwanda (1993-1994), and Iraq (1991-2003), and because Canada's Department of National Defense was losing interest in some troop commitments.

After the NATO-led war in Kosovo (1999), and especially after the war in Afghanistan (2001-2011), Canada became more comfortable taking sides and fighting in a more combat role. Some see this as a loss of identity, while others argue that it is merely a revival of Canada's old foreign policy traditions.

As for the invasion of the Russian Federation of Ukraine in February 2022, Canada immediately announced unequivocally its position and keeps supporting Ukrainians fleeing war in every possible way, for which a special program CUAET was created. In addition, Canadian soldiers are also fighting on the side of Ukraine.

Canada in the global economy

We mentioned above that Canada is the second largest country in the world. Combined with its geographic location, this gives a tremendous economic potential. Oil, timber and noble metals have long been the main "fuel" of the Canadian economy. But the gradual transition to the post-industrial era has made Canada a much more prosperous country, one that does not need to cling only to minerals. Like all post-industrial countries Canada offers goods and services to the world, which is the basis of its economic activity.

Canada is a wealthy country, and some of that wealth comes from the vast number of lucrative Canadian economic ties across the planet. As a country with an incredibly globalized economy, Canadians sign trade agreements, make corporate investments and do business partnerships with dozens of countries around the world. This means that much of Canada's foreign policy is focused on maintaining the global economic conditions that create wealth for Canadians.

As for Canada's huge dependence on U.S. trade in consumer goods, this is largely due to the countries' generally similar view on most major foreign policy issues over the years and geographic proximity.

Conclusion

Canada is a quiet, prosperous place. It looks like the United States, but it is not America at all. It has tremendous historical ties to Great Britain, but Canadians are already a new, and therefore a different, nation. Canada has enormous economic potential, and its level of human development makes country one of the most prosperous on the planet.

In other articles we will talk about Canadian peoples and Canadian art and its impact on the world.