The Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s foreign and defence policies, claiming that the country was losing relevance internationally.
CEO Perrin Beatty argued in the letter that the Liberal government’s policies are not up to date with the challenges facing Canada at the moment.
According to the National Post, this became obvious to him following several events in the Indo-Pacific.
“Canada is increasingly being viewed by our partners in the region as a well-meaning but unserious player on the international stage,” he said.
Beatty was critical of Trudeau’s defence policy, having been defence minister himself under the Mulroney government.
He believes that the peace and stability offered to Canada since the end of the Second World War was no longer something the country could rely on.
“It is clear that we can no longer take for granted the stable and peaceful international conditions that Canada helped to shape following the Second World War. This moment calls for a sober assessment of our international priorities and a recalibration of how we engage with other nations,” said Beatty.
While he was confident in the government’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, which was released last year, Beatty thinks that Canada’s overall foreign policy hasn’t been handled with the severity it requires.
“Unfortunately, with the exception of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canadian foreign policy in recent years has frequently appeared, instead, to be reactive and unfocused,” he said.
“We have too often concentrated our efforts on policies designed to produce good feelings instead of on those that will produce good results.”
Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy seeks to make major investments in defence as well as to create stronger diplomatic ties in the region to offset the influence currently maintained by China.
Beatty’s letter warned of the coming updates on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, scheduled for review in 2026. The deal was signed in 2018 as a replacement for the previous NAFTA agreement.
“Canada should be preparing the ground now through a coordinated outreach campaign by all levels of government and the private sector to demonstrate to America’s citizens why a healthy relationship with Canada is important to them,” said Beatty, arguing that trade with the U.S. is too vital for Canada’s economy to ignore.
He likened Canada-U.S. trade to a company which has one major customer, advising the prime minister to spend more time and effort working on that relationship.
“Any company that did two-thirds of its business with one customer would spare no effort to maintain and strengthen that relationship,” said Beatty.
Additionally, Beatty warned that it’s time to start investing in defence, as the world is becoming increasingly unstable.
“Canada needs to meet its key commitments to avoid being viewed as an unreliable partner. Particularly in the current security climate, Canada must prioritize meeting the NATO target of allocating at least two per cent of GDP to defence spending.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Trudeau government promised to review its spending on defence regarding NATO, however, it has not yet announced any sort of proposal.
Canada is currently spending 1.3% of its GDP on defence, however, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that to meet the annual NATO target of 2%, it would have to spend an additional $14 billion per year.
