Passports Are Powerful Tools0

• Analysis
• January 10, 2014

In A Thousand Farewells, her memoir of covering civil unrest and war in the Middle East, Canadian reporter Nahlah Ayed writes about the striking reception her citizenship received in that region. The Winnipeg-born daughter of Palestinian immigrants, Ayed found …

A Response to Derek Burney on Canada’s Foreign Policy0

• Analysis
• January 3, 2014

A January 2^nd op-ed in the Globe and Mail (republished in the CIPS Blog) on the current foreign policy of the Conservatives generated a lot of responses. Many were supportive, and others were quite critical. That is …

Why Did it Take So Long to (Sort of) Finalize the CETA?0

• Analysis
• January 3, 2014

In the fall of 2013 the Government of Canada finally announced that it had finalized (sort of) an agreement with the European Union for a comprehensive trade and economic agreement. I say “sort of” since all that was released was …

Canada’s Bitter, Small-Minded Foreign Policy0

• Analysis
• January 2, 2014

A foreign policy comprises many things. Interests, however defined, often dominate. But values must also be present if that policy is to be more than a series of transactions. Canada has always been a curious country when it comes to …

Democracy or the “Almighty Dollar” – Do We Need to Choose?0

• Analysis
• January 1, 2014

by Gerd Schönwälder

When the Harper government made the interests of Canada’s business community its top foreign policy priority last month, effectively sidelining traditional Canadian concerns such as democratic development, good governance, or human security, some observers were quick to …

Transatlantic Free Trade: Not a Novel Idea at All0

• Analysis
• December 19, 2013

The benefits of the Conservative government’s recently signed trade deal with the European Union are going to be unknown for some time. It will take an army of economists, lawyers and political scientists to assess the pros and cons of …

Shining Light on Harper’s Darkling Mideast Outlook0

• Analysis
• December 12, 2013

When a private citizen holds a world view filled with forces of light and darkness, with heroes and villains and mystical bonds tying fates together, that’s generally her own business. When that person is the Prime Minister of Canada, however, …

Stephen Harper and a ‘Rising’ Canada0

• Analysis
• December 12, 2013

By Colin Robertson, Vice President, Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute

Stephen Harper aims to position Canada as a ‘rising power’. While protecting our privileged access to the USA, Canada under Harper’s leadership actively seeks new markets for our goods …