Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada’s foreign policy is guided by establishing autonomy in strategic fields to limit superpower coercion, along with aspirations to lead middle powers.
Canadian Press reports that Anand said Saturday in Canada’s annual address to the United Nations General Assembly that “Great powers are walking away from global economic integration.
“In the face of this rupture, Canada’s goal is to achieve greater strategic autonomy,” she said at the green marble dais.
Anand’s speech did not directly mention American tariffs or last month’s collapse of trade talks between Canada and the United States. Rather, it mentioned work to diversify trade beyond North America.
Anand used an analogy that she said comes from her roots in rural Nova Scotia. “The tide does not wait; you must move with it.”
She suggested countries form “long-term partnerships with Canada for security and prosperity.
“Rather than yearn for days gone by, let us together take this opportunity to do right by our people, and build together,” she said.
Anand also voiced support for the NATO alliance, amid an increase in warnings from European leaders about Russian hybrid attacks. She cited a recent defence agreement between Denmark, its autonomous territory Greenland and US President Donald Trump.
Anand said Canada supports the International Criminal Court amid Washington’s quest to dismantle the institution. Her comments come as Canada’s critics argue Ottawa is not calling out American coercion, including the sanctioning of a Canadian judge for her work at the ICC.
She reiterated Canada’s bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, through a vote expected in one year.
Anand said Ottawa is pursuing “values-based realism” while advocating for democracy in Iran, the return of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia and work to end Haiti’s gruesome gang crisis.
Her speech mentioned gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, Sudan’s civil war, Hamas attacks on Israel, Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and safe approaches to artificial intelligence.
Anand also said Canada is ready to work with whoever UN members elect as their next secretary-general, referring in French to the role in the masculine and feminine titles.
That comment followed the Trudeau government calling for a woman to be the next secretary-general in September 2024. The Carney government has not repeated that call.
