In this election season, as most others, foreign affairs rest at the periphery of party platforms and public discussion. The Conservatives’ reactive focus on supporting Israel, fighting ISIL, ducking global warming, and confronting Vladimir Putin over Crimea and Ukraine will generate some debate. And there is always the possibility of the unexpected. But on the bigger strategic dimensions of Canada’s role in the world we can expect little. After a decade of steadfast refusal to articulate a comprehensive foreign policy strategy—remember that the Conservatives’ 2005 Red Book had 171 words on foreign affairs—it is very unlikely that one will emerge before October 19. And there is no sign that opposition parties have well-developed alternatives, however different their instincts might be.
The timing of the release of David Mulroney’s important Middle Power, Middle Kingdom: What Canadians Need to Know About China in the 21st Century thus represents a missed...
Paul Evans is a professor of Asian and trans-Pacific international relations at the University of British Columbia. His first book was a biography of John Fairbank; his most recent, Engaging China: Myth, Aspiration and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper, was published by the University of Toronto Press last year.
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