Canada needs to take a more pragmatic approach to international relations and spend more on defence amid trade tensions with the United States and an increasingly uncertain world, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Tuesday.
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The minister’s comments in Montreal came one day after U.S. President Donald Trump paused threatened tariffs on the import of goods from Canada for 30 days after the Canadian government agreed to strengthen a border security plan.
But despite the reprieve, Joly told the Montreal Chamber of Commerce that Canada continues to face almost four more years of unpredictability from its largest trading partner and its president, who took office just over two weeks ago, as well as international tensions that are at their highest level since the Second World War.
“We need to make sure that we’re pragmatic, that we are about protecting our interests first and that we work with many allies,” she told reporters. “There are many allies within American society and even the political class, of course, but we need also to work along with allies that we haven’t always worked as closely with.”
That includes European countries, the United Kingdom and friendly countries in Asia, as well as Mexico.
“Mexico is our second-biggest trading partner, and we should never take it for granted,” she said.
Joly, who made reference to the threat of a conflict between the U.S. and China, said Canada needs to invest more in its national defence and do so faster than it has in the past.
“I know very well there are tensions between countries and Canada,” Joly said. “We’re a middle power, so we have to be able to, first of all, defend our national interest and navigate this reality, which really is changing before our eyes.”
Canada needs to be able to defend itself, and more investment in the military will lead to Canada being more respected, she said.
“Protecting our country has always been one of our values. It’s just that our generation has lived in a peaceful country. Other generations in the past weren’t more bellicose or more peaceful, they just responded to what was happening as it was happening,” she said.
The wake-up call from the Trump tariff threats also means Quebecers — who have generally been opposed to the expansion of oil and gas pipelines — must think about whether they need to reconsider their positions, Joly said during an onstage interview with Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Michel Leblanc.
Canada exports the vast majority of its crude oil to the U.S. for processing. While oil and natural gas pipelines have, or will be, extended to the British Columbia coast, there are no pipelines that travel across Canada, Joly said.
The minister said Trump paused his tariff threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on the import of all goods from Canada, except for energy, which would be subject to a 10 per cent surtax, after Canada agreed to appoint a “fentanyl czar,” list cartels as terrorist groups and increase funding for border security by $200 million — in addition to an already announced $1.3-billion border security plan.
But Joly maintained the plan is a “win-win” deal that will prevent illegal migration from the U.S. into Canada, as well as fight gun smuggling.
Still, Canada faces the threat of those tariffs being imposed next month and an executive order, signed hours after Trump took office, that creates a review of the trade relationship between the two countries.
“I think Canadians across the country are feeling a sense of relief because of this 30-day pause, but I think, absolutely, we need to make sure that we continue to hold together, to keep this very strong Canadian unity that we’re showing all together right now, and we need to be strong as one,” she said.
Joly encouraged Canadians to keep buying local products and take vacations in Canada or other countries outside the U.S.
“Meanwhile, we’ll continue to plead the case of Canada in the U.S., and ultimately, what we know is the only ones that will be able to convince President Trump are Americans themselves,” she said.