This article originally appeared in the Globe and Mail.
By Stephen Nagy, November 13, 2024
When Justin Trudeau came into power in 2015, some progressive Asians welcomed his election victory. They witnessed liberal ideas become a reality. They saw a cabinet that was diverse in terms of ethnicity and gender representation, an immigration and refugee policy that was welcoming, and an environmental agenda aimed at tackling climate change.
This positive impression should have been leveraged for Canadians to engage in trade with the Indo-Pacific region. It encompasses 40 economies, more than four billion people and $47.19-trillion in economic activity. It is the world’s fastest growing region, and is home to six of Canada’s top 13 trading partners.
Unfortunately, Mr. Trudeau and Canada no longer enjoy such favourable sentiments in Asia and our trade pillar is hobbled by the government’s misreading of the region and mishandling of consequential relationships.
Today, Canada is seen in the region as a nice but distant country that is not a credible or a serious partner. Mr. Trudeau is perceived as decadent, distracted and doing everything except listening to voters to hang on to power.
In every closed-door meeting with think tanks and government officials I attend, Mr. Trudeau’s last-minute walkout at the 2017 Trans-Pacific Partnership signing in Danang, Vietnam is raised. My counterparts ask me if the Trudeau government is more interested in trade as part of our Indo-Pacific Strategy or evangelizing its domestic progressive values.
With China, Mr. Trudeau pursued a progressive Free Trade Agreement with a regime that was strengthening state control of the economy and promoting nationalism. Unsurprisingly, it failed.
With India, trade discussions are a non-starter as both capitals argue over complicity in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and support for creating an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan. While Canada should never compromise on any foreign interference, Mr. Trudeau had mishandled the matter by viewing it through the lens of domestic diaspora politics.
Trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is in a no better place with Mr. Trudeau demonstrating his lack of seriousness by spending 48 hours in Laos for the group’s summit. The Prime Minister did not visit any other part of the region to speak about Canada-Indo-Pacific concrete trade, diplomatic or security co-operation. He returned home to Ottawa touting success when the region feels the Trudeau government continues to misread it.
It is common to hear the Trudeau government labelled as schizophrenic, self-sabotaging and short-sighted. Ottawa calls out China as an “increasingly disruptive power,” yet it continues to fail to address foreign interference at home. Just this month, instead of addressing the issue, Mr. Trudeau politicized the foreign interference inquiry by targeting the opposition in his answer to a non-partisan question.
The Trudeau government is also described as self-sabotaging by Asian officials and analysts. Earlier this year, it announced a 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles before creating legislation to protect sectors of the economy such as agriculture that were likely to be targeted by China in retaliation. And the list goes on.
Protecting the environment under Mr. Trudeau has come at a heavy cost. In his own words, with the adoption of “higher environmental and labour standards than the countries that are right now busy cornering the market on those sorts of productions,” Canada is less competitive.
As a result, Canadians suffer because we are not selling resources that contribute to our prosperity. Our allies suffer by not getting relatively cheap and reliable access to our energy and critical minerals. This puts them at the mercy of authoritarian states such as China and Russia who have never hesitated to use their energy or critical mineral monopolies for geopolitical gain.
Credibility and opportunities continue to be lost by the Trudeau government. As chair of both the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the upcoming G7 Summit to be held in Kananaskis, Alta., the Trudeau government (or new government) has a chance to change these dynamics.
First, as CPTPP Commission chair, they can champion the enlargement of the agreement to include Taiwan. This would help further diversify Canada’s trade portfolio and expand the membership of the most advanced trade agreement, both of which open up opportunities for Canadian businesses in the region.
Second, as the G7 host, Ottawa should forge consensus in the joint communiqué for a collective approach to combatting disinformation and investing in the export of energy and critical minerals to like-minded partners.
Both initiatives would bolster Canadian credibility in contributing to a public good within Asia and contribute to its economic security and resilience, which are key priorities of our Asian partners.
Stephen Nagy is a professor of politics and international studies at Japan’s International Christian University.
