Why Canada Matters:
An American perspective

by John Dickson

AS AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER, THE FOCUS ON NATIONAL POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND THE BROAD PUBLIC CONCERN OVER DEFINING CANADA’S PLACE IN THE WORLD HAS CAPTURED MY ATTENTION.

I am drawn to this partly as an intellectual, abstract exercise, but more so because it is refreshing to see a country confront such a weighty issue directly, collectively. Positioning a nation to understand the evolving global environment, to define its interests and then to set an agenda on how to pursue those interests is a difficult, but worthwhile exercise.

The start and end point of my observations is one basic reality: Canada has been a force for good in the world. Sometimes it may be hard to define what that role is, harder to define than to, in Nike’s philosophy, “just do it.” Sometimes frustrations do mount over the irritants between our two countries and cloud that basic reality. However, there is an instinctive response, which maybe doesn’t need defining, which is good. We on your southern border saw this instinct and gut reaction on September 11, 2001 and then again on September 14 on Parliament Hill. It was an instantaneous recognition of the evil of that act and your appreciation for our need for solidarity in that moment.

The one common thread in your debate has been that Canada seems to want, first and foremost, to matter in the world. I see this manifested in all the documents, position papers and media commentary.
I see this manifested in the bilateral meetings on arms control issues, on border security, on North America, on Iraq.

Canada has a good reputation around the world. Robert Greenhill, in a report for the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, quoted someone as calling Canada “the world’s boy scout.” Loyal, friendly, promoting peace and justice, reaching out, open, multicultural, idealistic, and helpful. All this is good, but it still seems to eat at Canadians – do we matter?

To matter in this world requires making a contribution, and that contribution may require some sacrifice – sometimes making the hard decisions that may damage the spotless reputation, sometimes making the hardest decisions of all that may end up putting lives at risk.

Canada has been contributing to peacekeeping operations, more than many, to prevent atrocities and to protect peoples. It has also made considerable contributions in economic development with programs on all continents. But for some reason, despite all this, Canadians still are wrestling with the question, “Do we matter?”

Commentators suggest that these contributions are too thin, spread too widely; others suggest that these are not contributions to the highest priority issues facing the world today; still others suggest that outside of an internationalist core, Canada has become more inward-looking, placing its priority and resources on internal quality of life issues such as health care, education or social welfare.

We at the Embassy have consistently made a point of expressing appreciation to Canada for its role around the world – for the contributions to what has transpired in Afghanistan; for leading the international monitoring of the elections in Iraq; for the $300 million contribution to Iraqi reconstruction; for training of Iraqi police; for contributions to tsunami relief; and for police support for Haiti. These are the critical issues in the world; they’re sizeable and they’re current.

At the same time, we have been fairly open about our interest in seeing Canada increase its financial commitment to its armed forces, as a member of and ally in NATO. We have not been alone in making such a request, especially in light of events this past year that have highlighted the consequences of inadequate funding of Canada’s armed forces. We have also publicly acknowledged the recent commitments to increased resources over the next five years.

There is one area where Canada does have a huge advantage; it is an area that received priority status in the recent International Policy Statement. Canada has a role to play in shaping North America, making sure North America matters. The advantage is that Canada has more people, more scholars, more of the government focusing on North America than probably either of the other two countries in North America. Robert Greenhill mentioned that Canada could become “the think tank for the world.” There is a need for a think tank to fashion these three very different countries into a North America that takes advantage of our comparative strengths – our people, our labor forces, our research and development, our resources, our dynamism – while maintaining our distinctive identities.

This kind of analysis would assess our vulnerabilities and our opportunities and identify what could work to address these within our three legal frameworks.

Several experiences since my arrival have led me to this. The best example has been the project on smart regulation. Canada leapt out front to conduct a comprehensive analysis on regulatory differences between our two countries. This will provide an extraordinarily useful starting point as we in North America look at reducing regulatory barriers that businesses in this single market face.

Canada gained an edge with the resources it was able to devote to the project but used its edge, in addressing how these regulations were aligned with those in the U.S., not to try to win a zero-sum game, but to adopt what some might call a distinctly Canadian approach, to find a win-win solution.

Such a role in North America may not be enough for a country that wants to ‘matter’ on the world stage. My point in raising North America is not to preclude a broader role, but to suggest that this region should not be overlooked, by you, by us, or by Mexicans.

At the end of the day, though, Canadians should be proud of the role you have played in the world. The slogan that “the world needs more Canada” is one to which I, and many in the U.S., subscribe.

Many of us also subscribe to the corollary, as defined by Robert Greenhill: the world needs more from Canada. While important and interesting, this national discussion can have a paralyzing effect if too much time is spent on the analysis and definition and setting of directions. Canada approaches the world with the right instincts, with the instantaneous right reactions. In my gut, in your gut, in the collective gut of the rest of the world, we know what that is, what it means.

The end point for this discussion remains: Canada has been a force for good in the world. There aren’t too many countries where that rings as true as it does for this one.



John Dickson has served as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy since September 2004. He served in the same post in Mexico City from 2002-2004. He joined the Foreign Service in 1984 with the United States Information Agency where he served in Lagos, Nigeria and Durban, South Africa.