Canadian Foreign Policy

Has the G7 Lost its Mojo?0
- Analysis
- June 17, 2018
After a series of sessions on global trade and the key Canadian priorities of gender equality and climate change, the highly anticipated two-day Group of Seven (G7) summit ended Saturday afternoon in Charlevoix, Quebec.

There had been hopes for a …
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Why Canada Should NOT Move its Embassy to Jerusalem 0
- Analysis
- June 5, 2018
by Jon Allen and Alan Freeman

For President Donald Trump and many Israelis, the decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem is simply “a recognition of reality,” the fact that Jerusalem and not Tel Aviv is the functioning capital …
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Need More Proof of Genocide in Myanmar? It’s Being Born Right Now 0
- Analysis
- June 3, 2018
by John Packer

Nine months since the violent attacks of August 25, 2017, and thereafter forced 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, the first of thousands of pregnancies as a result of rape are coming to term.

For these …
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Alternative Facts, Chinese Style 0
- Analysis
- May 25, 2018
China’s increased censorship of foreign websites came to light on May 15, when it was reported that Air Canada had changed the drop-down menus of its destinations to show Taiwan’s capital Taipei as part of China. Air Canada’s capitulation to …
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The G7: Hard Talk or a Sleepwalk?0
- Analysis
- May 24, 2018
by Jeremy Kinsman

As the Charlevoix G7 approaches, there is some question as to how the June 8–9 summit could play out as a Trumpian disaster. As veteran diplomat Jeremy Kinsman writes, if the disruptive president plays skunk at the …
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1983 GAC Document Still Relevant Today: “The Crisis of Quality” Revisited 0
- Analysis
- May 17, 2018
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is under pressure from a variety of directions and for different reasons: the Prime Minister’s India trip; a lacklustre policy performance under the Trudeau government; indifferent communications with the Canadian public; and, at the top, confusion …
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Canada Among Donors: What Do the Latest Foreign Aid Statistics Tell Us?0
- Analysis
- April 17, 2018
The preliminary aid statistics for 2017 are now out. What do they tell us about global trends and Canadian foreign aid?

Globally, official development assistance (ODA) from traditional donors has held steady. The total amount, US$147 billion, is down slightly …
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Putting the Foreign Service Back on Track 0
- Analysis
- April 14, 2018
This blog is a condensed version of my 11 April 2018 presentation to the Professional Committee of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO), the Canadian Foreign Service Union, in Ottawa. It argues for a new foreign ministry model …
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In Defense of Canada’s New International Development Assistance Policy 0
- Analysis
- April 12, 2018
Criticism, while hardly ever welcome, is nevertheless necessary to draw attention to potential pitfalls. If heeded in time, danger may be averted; disaster, however, may follow an unexamined plan. Canada’s new Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) has drawn its share …
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Arms Exports and Feminist Foreign Policy 0
- Analysis
- April 11, 2018
In recent years, we’ve seen a number of depressing political shifts in the Euro-Atlantic area — but the rise of feminist foreign policies is not among them.

The trend was set in 2014 when Margot Wallström was named foreign minister …
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Time to Make the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Plan Permanent 0
- Analysis
- March 21, 2018
In too many countries around the world, LGBTQ persons are criminalized — singled out for who they love — with criminal penalties including prison time and death. Canada’s refugee admission system is not perfect, but one of its great strengths …
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After the India Visit: It’s Time for a Trudeau Government Re-Set 0
- Analysis
- March 12, 2018
Enough has already been said and written about the problems of the prime minister’s recent foray to India. The critics have justifiably not been kind. Even if we discount some of the more partisan allegations, there is substance to …
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