Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is having a productive March. True to his words in Davos, he visited some global middle power nations to strengthen their ties with Canada. Carney is aiming to place Canada at the forefront of a global middle powers alliance.
Meanwhile, the U.S under President Donald Trump has also been visiting Iran, although under more explosive circumstances.
Carney’s latest visits to India, Australia and Japan have been fruitful. His visit to India is especially important, as it is a mending of a frayed relationship between the two nations. During Justin Trudeau’s tenure as prime minister, the Indian-Canadian relationship reached historic lows, but under Carney, it's on the mend.
Indeed, Canada has signed a $2.6 billion deal with India to export uranium for nuclear energy and other critical minerals.
When visiting Japan, Carney even spoke briefly in Japanese with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as a gesture of goodwill. In contrast, Trump spoke to South American leaders at the first summit of the “Shield of the Americas,” aimed at disrupting criminal networks. In it, he said he wasn’t interested in learning Spanish to an audience of Spanish-speaking leaders.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Carney in an address to the Australian Parliament. Carney became the first Canadian PM to visit Australia in 20 years.
Albanese jokingly stated that Australians always welcomed “Canadian rebels with bold ideas.”
Chinese-Canadian relationships have also seen a sign of being repaired, as tariffs on Canadian canola oil dropped in March. This was after Carney visited Beijing, where he negotiated a deal to accept 69,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs).
However, Carney also had to show some measure of support for the U.S attacks on Iran. Carney, in a speech in India, stated that he supported the U. S’s decision to bomb Iran, although he said it with “regret.”
This is not an endorsement of the war, but a statement of mollification. The last thing Carney would need right now is an irate U.S focusing on Canada. Much like Vietnam, it is wiser for Canada to observe and not get involved with the U.S on their brand-new venture.
Carney has since ruled out sending military support into Iran.
According to The Hub, Carney has taken at least 26 trips abroad in his quest to diversify Canadian trade and reduce U.S dependency. Reuters has reported that the Iranian war is costing American taxpayers billions of dollars daily. Meanwhile, Carney is trying to build lucrative trade deals.
Carney now has to be more careful with Trump, who might consider these actions as a direct threat. Trump had previously threatened to punish Canada for signing a deal with China. However, Carney is being a shrewd linchpin for the middle powers, quietly working to build his alliance to secure a safe future for Canada.
Carney will definitely have his critics in Parliament, and they can accuse him of using taxpayer funds on these trips. But one thing that they cannot accuse him of is the fact that he understands better than most the art of the deal.
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