Author’s Preface
As I finalized this essay, Prime Minister Mark Carney posted a video from a closed-door meeting with all the provincial premiers. Behind him was a world map centred not on Canada, but on Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. That framing wasn’t accidental, as we are currently seeing with Carney’s multitude of visits around the globe.
The global order is shifting. Western institutions are signalling, coordinating, and repositioning—but most Canadians aren’t aware of the scale of the realignment. This essay is my attempt to bridge that gap.
The world is changing. Canada cannot afford to stand still.
Canada Is Misreading the Moment
As global power undergoes a seismic realignment, Canada’s foreign policy remains tethered to traditional frameworks prioritizing trade agreements like CETA with the EU, steadfast NATO commitments, and alignment with a Western liberal order under strain.
In theory, this project’s continuity. In practice, it risks stagnation.
The BRICS bloc has transcended its economic origins, emerging as a geopolitical counterweight, crafting an alternative platform for global coordination.
The UAE has astutely positioned itself as a bridge between Western financial systems and BRICS networks, navigating energy, trade, and diplomatic channels with agility. Canada, by contrast, views BRICS as a peripheral concern.
We are playing a transformed global game with familiar rules and assuming we’re still in the lead.
The Identity Vacuum Beneath Our Strategy
Canada’s cautious global posture mirrors a deeper uncertainty at home.
We celebrate multiculturalism, yet shy away from forging a unified national identity. Without a clear narrative of who we are, what we stand for, and where we’re headed, our institutions lean toward restraint or even complacency.
Now consider the UAE: it embraces diversity and global engagement. Yet it has crafted a national story grounded in sovereignty, bold ambition, and a defined sense of purpose. Religious pluralism, economic vitality, and international influence thrive within a state-driven vision of pride and progress.
Canada, by contrast, drifts in ambiguity, more adept at projecting values than defining them.
