Canada from Justin Trudeau A lack of “seriousness” on the international stage and populist protectionism cooked in poilievre sauce “have no political future,” declared former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in an interview with The duty.

Canada’s splendor in the world seems dull in the 83-year-old’s eyes. “But we have an important role to play,” reiterated the former statesman. With 38 million inhabitants we have a gross national product that is far superior to that of Russia with 144 million inhabitants! »

On his election night in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau triumphantly announced to the world, “Canada is back”. Seven years later, the memory of that sentence elicits joyless laughter from the former leader of the Progressive Conservatives almost to the day. “ Canada is backas he said … It’s good,” emphasizes the 18-year-old ironically^e The Canadian Prime Minister, visibly unperturbed by the international demands of the 23rd^e.

The former Prime Minister made the case for a “worthy” Canada on the world stage at the launch of an ambitious fundraising campaign launched by his alma mater, Laval University. The Quebec establishment wants to raise $80 million to fund the construction of an international center named in honor of its famous graduate. This pavilion will serve as the home of Laval University’s School of International Studies, as well as a training ground for the next generation of Canadian diplomats.

“Why couldn’t a Quebecer become President of the Security Council? Or UN Secretary General? asks the former prime minister. This has happened before: during my mandates, Yves Fortier, a guy from Quebec, was President of the Security Council during the first war in Kuwait, at a time when the world was going through a very turbulent period. »

However, according to Mr. Mulroney, those days are over. And it will remain so as long as Canada is no longer engaged in the world.

Ottawa is playing dead with its key allies, former PM laments. “The last time Canada spent 2% of its GDP on defense as required by theNato, it was 30 years ago under my government. It’s been steadily declining since then, and other countries are wondering if Canada is serious about it. »

Behind the diplomatic scenes

Under his rule, Canada played at the top of the world, believes Mr. Mulroney. The country helped alleviate famine in Ethiopia, participated in the release of Nelson Mandela and the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa, and ensured the conclusion of treaties that can reaffirm Canada’s presence on the world stage, including acid rain, and free trade in North America and Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.

“We also played an important role in the reunification of Germany,” he says. Canada was then, in the eyes of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, alongside the USSR and the United States, on the short list of countries to which the reunited Germans owed eternal gratitude.

“I have tried to behave in a way that internationally recognizes Canada and Quebec as interesting, useful – and admired – partners,” the former prime minister said. Today’s Canada, he complains, doesn’t even invest in the blue helmets, which it nevertheless helped to shape. »

“When I was prime minister, there were 16 international peacekeeping missions, and Canada is the only country that took part in all of them,” he recalls. We have deployed up to 80,000 troops in these initiatives, or 10% of the total number of peacekeepers. When I resigned in 1993, 3,700 Canadian troops were assigned to the United Nations. Today there are 35.

The protectionist danger

Canada’s retreat from the international scene reflects the impending decline of its power. In a report published in 2017, PricewaterhouseCoopers measured the extent of Canada’s downgrade looming up to 2050. Six years ago, Canadian GDP ranked the country 17th^e World ranking of the economic forces of the planet. According to the report, it will slip to 22 by the middle of the century^e place behind countries like Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt or the Philippines.

“If you want to assert yourself internationally, you have to be prepared to spend money, but also to get involved internationally,” emphasizes Brian Mulroney.

The former Conservative leader doesn’t appreciate the newbie’s speech very much. The protectionism of Pierre Poilevre, very little for him. “There’s no future for that. Protectionism has had its day, but in the long run it doesn’t make a good prime minister, concludes the ex-prime minister. Not a great country either. »

To see in the video