On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau refused to criticise United States (US) President Joe Biden’s decision to exclude Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the Americas Summit. However, he said the event presents an “extremely important” and unique opportunity to interact with “some like-minded, some less like-minded” fellow hemispheric nations on topics such as migration, climate change, and post-pandemic economic recovery, perhaps alluding to the fact that cooperation is necessary with democratic and undemocratic nations alike.
Moreover, he added in a press conference with Chilean President Gabriel Boric, that Canada follows a “long-standing approach to Cuba that is different from the United States.”
We spoke about developing critical minerals and making our supply chains more resilient, too, and we recommitted to supporting Ukraine and holding the Russian regime accountable for its illegal invasion. On these and other issues, we’ll continue to move forward as partners.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 9, 2022
Boric, on the other hand, was more brazen in his remarks, calling it an “error, a mistake, and we’re going to say that during the summit.” He said it marked a “missed opportunity” for the US to advance democracy in the region. While reaffirming his critiques of the three countries, Boric accused the US of “double standards,” pointing to its support for undemocratic regimes in Saudi Arabia and Israel. He thus blamed the US for giving the excluded countries a “perfect excuse for victimisation” and added that it must reorient its relations in terms of “political equality with the region’s countries” and promote “shared values” like respect for human rights and freedom of press, as these would be “much better supported without paternalism.”
Echoing Boric’s statement, Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh remarked that the three countries should not be banned for having “different political views” than Biden’s, noting that though raising concerns about human rights is important, it cannot be considered a suitable reason for barring them. “I think that was the wrong decision… Canada should also make it clear that we support the participation of these three countries,” Singh added.
The US had announced that those three countries were barred from the summit for not being democratic enough and facing human rights issues, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying, “The president believes that he needs to stick by his principles and not invite dictators.” In fact, many democracy watchdogs have labelled them to be “authoritarian.” This led to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador refusing to attend the summit earlier this week, saying, “There can’t be a Summit of the Americas if not all countries of the American continent are taking part.”
Nevertheless, Trudeau did acknowledge some of Biden’s concerns, saying, “We need – as like-minded countries, but quite frankly, as a world – we need democracies to succeed,” adding, “In order for democracies to succeed at a time where they’re backsliding, where they’re under pressure from all sorts of corners of the world, we need our citizens to feel that success.”
Moreover, despite these apparent differences, Biden said in joint remarks with Trudeau that the US has “no better friend in the whole world than Canada.”
He described the region as the “most democratic hemisphere in the world” and expressed his desire for it to become an even more “democratic, united, middleclass, and economically prosperous hemisphere.”
After Biden’s comments, Trudeau said that the two countries share a “deep friendship” and are “the only places in the world where there is a truly binational command to protect our homelands,” referring to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
He said the two sides will use the summit to push for a vision of democracies that are “not just fairer, but also better for citizens.” He said the focus must remain on “how we create prosperity, how we counter the rising cost of living, how we create good jobs for our citizens not just in our respective countries but in each other’s countries and throughout the hemisphere.”
On the bilateral front, Trudeau said the US and Canada will remain “deeply engaged” in condemning and working against Russia’s “illegal invasion” of Ukraine as well as confronting climate change.
In a press statement after the bilateral meeting, Trudeau stressed their “unwavering” commitment toward the Ukraine conflict in providing all forms of assistance and continuing to work together “closely” in sanctioning Moscow. The Canadian leader agreed to “maintain unity in the face of Russia’s disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the rules-based international order.”
Yesterday, at the @SummitAmericas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened a roundtable discussion with leaders from Belize, Chile, Ecuador, and Jamaica, to discuss key regional issues. Read a summary of the meeting: https://t.co/xqop82ftMb
— CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) June 9, 2022
The PM expressed his support for Biden’s Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) “to advance the well-being of people” across the region. He also vowed to “enhance cooperation with the US and other partners to respond to the current humanitarian, protection, and irregular migration challenges,” while backing the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.
According to the statement, the pair noted their shared commitment to combatting climate change and accelerating the green transition and continuing to promote and nurture trade and investment ties. Trudeau also raised the issue of imposing duties on Canadian softwood lumber, which he said is increasing home prices and affordability. The US is Canada’s biggest trade partner, given that it imports more US goods than any other country and that it exports the largest percentage of its own goods to the US.
As per the White House readout of the meeting, the leaders talked about the “potential of developing critical minerals” in both countries and combining efforts to make their supply chains and economies more resilient as major energy producers through the US-Canada Supply Chain Working Group. They also agreed to “achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.”
Here is a bit of news: I’m told US President Joe Biden and Prime Minsiter Justin Trudeau agreed that Biden will make a visit to Canada “in the coming months”.
— Annie Bergeron-Oliver (@AnnieClaireBO) June 9, 2022
“We’re seeing a time where the world is shifting rapidly. Whether it’s new threats, new technologies, or shifting geopolitical realities, it becomes all the more important for friends and allies like Canada and the United States to continue working so closely together,” Trudeau stated in a possible reference to China building hypersonic missiles.
On China, Trudeau also reiterated his desire to prohibit Chinese telecommunications giants Huawei and ZTE from Canada’s 5G networks over concerns about espionage. They also pledged to increase cooperation on ensuring “regional security and good governance” in the Indo-Pacific.
Meanwhile, Biden promised to visit Canada in the near future.