Canada's Role in International Peace and Trade
Canada is a nation that is located on the North American continent. It comprises of three territories and ten provinces, and its total area is approximated to be 9.98 million kilometres squared, hence, making it the second-biggest nation on the globe. From an economic perspective, Canada is deemed as one of the most developed nations on the world as its total gross domestic product (GDP) is 1.7 trillion dollars while its annual economic growth is 1.8%, and the level of its per capita income is 46437 dollars [1]. As illustrated in this paper, Canada has been playing a significant role in the maintenance of law and order on the world as denoted by its engagement in various peace keeping missions. Canada is also a member of several trading blocs, which implies that it has been influencing the economic growth of other states as well.
Case Study Topic Summary
Canada is one of the states that have actively participated in the formulation of effective strategies that enhance the promotion of international peace. It is paramount to note that the essence of international law and order can never be underestimated as it is one of the critical factors that enable nations to engage in free trade with each other. As a result, they are in a position to create more job opportunities for their citizens and concentrate on the manufacture of commodities that they have a comparative advantage in their production. Since it is one of the most advanced nations on the globe, it would be worth noting that Canada has been taking part in activities that are geared towards safeguarding the interests of its citizens and the welfare of people from all over the globe. Canada’s foreign policy depicts that it is committed to promoting trade among nations all over the world and striving to sustain international peace and order. As a result, it is committed to ensuring that it takes a more active part in the United Nations’ peacekeeping missions. Due to the ever-increasing concerns of climate change on the globe, which has led to a significant rise in the overall level of global warming, Canada is one of the nations that signed the Paris Agreement in 2015. According to the treaty, the respective states are obligated to seek effective strategies of reducing the rate of carbon emissions into the atmosphere as a strategy of protecting the environment. As a member of the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, Canada has challenged its partners to promote key values like gender equality and the involvement of people from the marginalized groups in the affairs of the society.
Major Issues
Firstly, Canada is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which is a military body that is aimed at enhancing the security of its member states. Other members of NATO include the United States, Britain, Netherlands, and Italy among other states within the European region. The organization was formed in the year 1949 after its respective members agreed to sign the Washington Treaty. Although NATO was formed with an objective of protecting the nations from invasion by the Soviet Union, it is used as an effective platform of enhancing mutual defense operations among the members as well as enabling their participation in counter-terrorism activities[2]. NATO is also involved in peacebuilding efforts and restoration of international law and order as evidenced by its activities in Afghanistan and the Herzegovina and Bosnia conflicts.
Additionally, Canada has been playing an active role in peacekeeping missions all over the globe. For instance, through its foreign policy and several international institutions, it strived to ensure the sustenance of peace among nations after the end of the Second World War. The nation has also pursued other various peacekeeping missions such as the Suez Canal crisis and the Yugoslavian war. Nevertheless, Canada started avoiding taking part in peace missions after its efforts in Rwanda and Somalia failed, which led to a significant loss of lives.
Canada’s involvement in international commerce and trade is another integral factor that has put it at the center of the global stage. It is paramount to note that the nation is one of the members of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which is an economic bloc whose main objective is to promote trade between it, Mexico, and the United States[3]. The countries agreed to remove all the trade barriers that limited trade among them as a strategy of promoting the free flow of goods and service across their borders. However, Canada has also signed other trading pacts with the European Union and South Korea. Besides, it is a member of other international organizations like the G20 and G7 whose main goal is to formulate policies that are geared towards improving trade and economic alignment as well as development among states all over the globe. Additionally, Canada takes part in the efforts of the World Trade Organization, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund in designing policies that are aimed at stabilizing international development and commerce.
A Review of Pros and Cons on the Issue
Canada’s foreign policy has resulted in various benefits key among them the sustenance of the international law and order. As a result, there has been a peaceful co-existence among people all over the world as they are united by trade. Foreign investors, more so the ones from the nations that are in the same trading bloc with Canada, are at liberty to launch their development projects in the country – Canada. The major effect of this trend is that it has led to a significant inline in the level of Canada’s foreign direct investment (FDI). Argis is of the opinion that the total value of the FDI’s in Canada was approximately 6.9 billion dollars in the year 2018[4]. Therefore, it would be reasonable to argue that the nation has been capable of creating more job opportunities for its citizens as denoted by the increase in its number of foreign investment projects.
Besides, Canada has been in a position to initiate peacebuilding missions in various states that have been marred by various cases of conflicts. The effects of such missions cannot be underestimated as they have led to the restoration of peace in the affected countries, thus, enabling the inhabitants to carry on with their daily activities. In 1956, after the emergence of the Suez Canal Crisis, Pearson - the then Canadian secretary of state for External Affairs – initiated the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission[5]. A task force was formed whose main objective was to ensure that the conflict was resolved, which was achieved after the invention of the Canadian forces identified as the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF). Besides, Canada sent some of its soldiers to restore peace in Congo after the eruption of war in the African state in the year 1960.
Nevertheless, it would be reasonable to point out that Canada’s foreign policy may have led to some undesirable effects. For instance, it might be argued that it disregarded the sovereignty of some countries on the globe by sending its troops to restore peace. It is worth noting that a country’s independence should be respected by the other states, which implies that it should be left to handle its issues without any interference or coercion from foreign nations. Hence, one might argue that Canada interfered with Egypt’s domestic affairs by sending its troops there – Egypt - during the Suez Canal Crisis. This might be the major reason why Egypt opposed the intervention by the Canadian soldiers. On the other hand, the engagement in trading blocs may also lead to adverse effects one of them being a decrease in the overall performance of the domestic industries as they might be incapable of overcoming the intense competition from the foreign firms. The entry of foreign firms in Canada would lead to a decrease in the level of the market share, which means that the aggregate demand for domestic firms would significantly decline. In case, the Canadian organizations would be incapable of using advanced technology in their production operations; then they would be forced to cut down their output potential. As time goes by, they might also be forced to lay off some of their workers as a strategy of minimizing their total costs of operations.
Position on the Issue
Canada has been playing a crucial role on the globe as denoted by its foreign policy. The formation of trading blocs is not only a favorable strategy of enhancing trade among nations but also a strategy of promoting the peaceful co-existence of the societal members. This serves as the main rationale why some of the foreign investors have opted to launch developmental projects in Canada. The need to promote international peace and order is another technique that is used to boost the overall level of trade among states. Canada has achieved this objective by sending its troops to peacekeeping and peace-restoration missions in states that may have been marred conflicts.
Conclusion
In summary, Canada’s role on the globe cannot be underestimated. As denoted above, the nation has been engaging in various strategies that are geared towards the promotion of law and order all over the world. Firstly, it is a member of several trading blocs such as NAFTA, whose main goal is to eradicate the trade barriers between America, Mexico, and it – Canada. As a result, the level of foreign direct investment in Canada has increased, which is an illustration that economic blocs lead to the creation of more job opportunities for the community members. Also, Canada has been taking part in peacebuilding missions, whose main goal is to enhance international law and order. For instance, it sent some of its soldiers to restore peace in Egypt after the emergence of the Suez Canal Crisis and in Congo in the year 1960. In some cases, Canada has been indirectly participating in the peace missions by supporting the United Nation’s efforts.
References
Zoller, Elisabeth. “Two Concluding Remarks, European Union countries, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, National Security.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 17 no. 2 (2010): 207-209.
Granatstein, J.J. “Peacekeeping” 2016. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/peacekeeping
The Heritage Foundation. “2018 Index of Economic Freedom” 2018 https://www.heritage.org/index/country/canada
Theophilos, Argitis. “Foreign Investment Holds Steady in Canada Despite U.S. Tax Cuts” 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-29/canada-2nd-qtr-foreign-direct-investment-drops-on-energy-exodus
Villarreal, M.A., " Fergusson, I.F. (2017). “The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).” Congressional Research Service, (2017): 1-38.
[1] The Heritage Foundation, “2018 Index of Economic Freedom,” (2018), https://www.heritage.org/index/country/canada
[2] Elisabeth Zoller, “Two Concluding Remarks, European Union Countries, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, National Security.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 17, no 2 (2010): 207-209.
[3] Angeles Villarreal M., " Ian. F. Fergusson, “The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).” Congressional Research Service, (2017): 1-38.
[4] Theophilos, Argitis, “Foreign Investment Holds Steady in Canada Despite U.S. Tax Cuts,” 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-29/canada-2nd-qtr-foreign-direct-investment-drops-on-energy-exodus
[5] Granatstein, J.J., “Peacekeeping,” 2016. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/peacekeeping
