Six weeks ago, Canadian High Commissioner to London Ralph Goodale delivered a stirring welcome to delegates at the first Canada-UK Colloquium since the pandemic struck in 2020.

The 50th anniversary Canada-United Kingdom Colloquium, chaired by historian Margaret MacMillan, front left, and hosted by Canadian High Commissioner Ralph Goodale, front right, at Canada House in London/Ralph Goodale Twitter

Ralph Goodale

After a COVID-induced hiatus that was painfully long, a hearty “welcome back” to Canada House for this delayed, but enthusiastic 50th anniversary celebration of the Canada-UK Colloquium.  We are delighted to have you here – from both sides of the Atlantic – in these historic premises and for this historic occasion!

Salutations et bons voeux du gouvernement du Canada.  Et merci d’etre venus.

My congratulations to the Co-Chairs and all the organizers, both current and previous, for your persistence and hard work in producing high-quality, high-value colloquia for more than half a century, including an excellent program in this anniversary year.  And sincere thanks to Margaret MacMillan – for presiding over this event.  She is the perfect Canada-UK “bridge”.  Both of us claim her with great pride!

It’s going to be fascinating at this Colloquium in 2022, to revisit the same theme that inspired this event in the first place back in 1971 – what is the current state of our bilateral relationship?  How is it affected by the changing global context?  And what is the potential to make it better?

If our forebears thought the pace of change was “rapid” back in 1971, it was actually rather “glacial” in comparison to the technology-fuelled tumult of 2022.

Could those “colloquilites” who first gathered at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park just over 50 years ago have conceived of Zoom or Webex or MicroSoft Teams to keep the gathering going in the face of a global pandemic?

Technology notwithstanding, some fundamentals remain rock-solid.  Our two countries share hundreds of years of history – including the same Monarch, similar governmental, legal and commercial systems, good two-way trade and investment, strong military traditions, lively cultural and academic ties, too many family linkages to even count, and most importantly, a deep reservoir of mutual respect and trust based on values that we have promoted and defended together, and for which we both have always been prepared to sacrifice, to safeguard our way of life.

Canada, of course, is a much different country today from the fledgling “dominion” that emerged from an Act of the British Parliament on July 1st, 1867.  We have grown, matured and vastly diversified.

By dint of geography, Canadian development for 155 years has been heavily influenced by our big, sometimes difficult, American neighbour right next-door – a neighbour that was traumatized by deep divisions, civil war and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln just two years before our Confederation began.  Canada was born into that continental turmoil.  In various ways, some of that turmoil continues today.  And throughout our history, we’ve had the UK as a close and countervailing ally, partner and friend.

That tight relationship is probably more important now that it’s ever been.

Violent autocratic regimes are in the ascendancy around the world.  Democracy is under greater threat today than ever before in our lifetime.  In large parts of the Global South, a combination of diplomacy, disinformation and big dollars invested in infrastructure by China and Russia has extended the influence of those two countries, while diminishing ours.  Populism, extremism and polarization may render the United States potentially less recognizable as the familiar, reliable participant in global affairs that we’ve come to know (and depend upon) since World War II.

All of that makes Canada’s connections with the United Kingdom (and vice versa) that much more vital.  And it presents an opportunity for Canada to emerge from America’s shadow, with greater value and significance of our own.

Former UK Prime Minister Harold MacMillan is alleged to have said that government plans and agendas were largely shaped and could be radically altered by “events, my dear boy, events”.  Certainly, that would be true of what I’ve seen in my 19, event-filled months in this job.

When I first arrived in April of last year, the big upcoming “event” was the G7 Summit which the UK would be hosting that June in Cornwall – the first in-person leaders’ gathering in more than two years.  The hot topics were vaccine distributions, economic recovery from COVID, and China.  Later, as summer was ending, we faced the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan, the return of the Taliban, and a massive surge of refugees.

That was followed by the nuclear submarine “event” between Australia, the UK and the United States (branded AUKUS) which – to be candid – caused some friction in relationships, but it also stimulated momentum toward deeper security and intelligence partnerships between Canada and the UK.  They were embraced by our Prime Ministers (one PM for Canada / three for the UK), and those partnerships are active works-in-progress right now.

Then, in November 2021, COP26 on Climate Change gathered in Glasgow where ambitions were raised and some progress made.  Sadly, a year later, at COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, some of those gains were set back.

At the end of 2021, Omicron rekindled pandemic worries heading into the new year.  And then, on February 24th, Putin brutally and illegally invaded Ukraine and launched a war of naked imperial aggression.

Many in the UK were a bit surprised to learn that Ukrainians have been emigrating to Canada for more than 130 years.  Close to 1.4 million Canadians now trace their family heritage to Ukraine – the largest diaspora outside of Ukraine itself and Russia.  So what happens there matters in Canada.

But our concerns, and those of civilized countries everywhere, run far deeper than grief and anxiety among family and friends, as painful as that is, in itself.

Putin’s war threatens the sovereignty of all nations, the integrity of international institutions, the sanctity of human rights and freedoms everywhere, the viability of the rule of law and the rules-based international order.

Accordingly, more than 140 members of the United Nations have voted (more than once) to condemn Russian behaviour (with only five disreputable regimes actually supporting Russia).  But more than 40 countries either abstain or fail to vote whenever this matter comes up, including the two most populous nations on earth and about a dozen from the Commonwealth.  That is deeply troubling.

That some countries can witness massive, unmistakeable violations of the UN Charter, war crimes, crimes against humanity, sexual violence, the deliberate targeting of children, innocent civilian bodies dumped in mass graves – and still not vote against the perpetrator – is truly appalling.  It’s a measure of Russia’s insidious influence and control in some places.

Canada and the United Kingdom have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder FOR Ukraine from the very beginning.  For several years before Putin’s war, we were actively training Ukrainian defence forces at bases in Ukraine.  Now that vital training effort is continuing at bases in the UK, and Canada is committed to this initiative through all of 2023 at least.  It is a practical, high-value contribution which clearly makes a big difference on the ground.

Like the UK, Canada is also providing intelligence, transport logistics, military supplies, economic support, loan guarantees, humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees, along with extensive sanctions and other penalties to render Putin as much of an outcast as possible.  With creativity and careful coordination, Canada and the UK have each sanctioned more than 1,200 individuals and 200 entities.  Slow tools, but they are having a cumulative impact.

We’ve also worked together to support Sweden and Finland joining NATO.  We’ve helped to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, with Canada leading an enhanced battle-group in Latvia, while the UK leads in Estonia.  And Canada is upgrading its diplomatic footprint throughout the Baltics and eastern Europe.

Putin’s tactics include the weaponization of both food and energy.  His victims include Ukraine, but also extend far beyond.  It’s a measure of his depravity that he’s attacking civilians in Ukraine, across Europe and vulnerable hungry people around the world.  It’s Putin’s version of Stalin’s Holodomor genocide.

Canada is the world’s 3rd largest exporter of wheat, the 4th largest exporter of oil, the 5th largest exporter of natural gas.  We are the world’s Number-1 producer of potash and the Number-2 producer of uranium.  We will do everything possible to help fill gaps in food, fertilizer and fuel supply chains, to generate alternate products and sources, and provide emergency food aid.

That’s illustrated by big increases this year in our humanitarian assistance, including again last week through the World Food Program, plus extra support for grain storage capacity in Ukraine, an expansion in Saskatchewan’s potash production by as much as 40 percent, increased Canadian energy exports of an additional 300,000 barrels-a-day, and our new Hydrogen project with Germany.

On Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), more capacity moving east to Europe can be built.  It will take some investment by prospective purchasers in new infrastructure and long-term supply contracts.  But the potential is there, if the need persists.

Let me mention two other priorities which are natural areas for deeper, more extensive Canada-UK teamwork – one is working relentlessly to nurture and hold together the remarkable western coalition against Putin’s aggression, and the other is vigorously pushing back on Putin’s lies and disinformation.

On cohesion and staying-power within the coalition, Putin is counting on western allies growing weary, getting distracted, becoming inured to Russian atrocities or being more troubled by domestic costs and shortages.  He wants bickering to fragment the coalition and drive wedges between democratic governments and their voters. We need to stay keenly attuned to those risks, and fully alert to the bots and trolls and other tools of foreign interference that Putin deploys to manipulate discontent, division and dissension.

Coalition resolve and unity have been impressive to date.  We need to keep it that way.

And on the related matter of Russian disinformation, a priority we need to tackle – for a lot of reasons – is the myth that food insecurity in the Global South is caused by western sanctions against Russia.  That is a lie.  The cause is Putin’s war – period!  But if we want to win the hearts and minds of at least some of those 40-some countries that abstained from condemning Russian atrocities, we have to get a lot more compelling, timely and persistent in telling the plain truth about Putin, the catastrophe he has caused and the threat he poses to civilized people everywhere.

For Canada and the UK, we can start in our own backyard in the Commonwealth.

Putin’s war in Ukraine has been the dominant “event” of the past 9 months, but not the only one.

For example, in Brexit’s wake, we launched free trade negotiations between Canada and the UK to put in place our first-ever bilateral trade agreement.

We’ve got a lot to work with.  The value of our two-way trade totals more than $42 billion per year.  The UK is Canada’s 3rd largest export market for goods and our 2nd largest for services.  Foreign Direct Investment is healthy and growing.  The UK is Canada’s 3rd largest source of FDI and our 2nd largest destination.

In fact, through our pension funds and asset management firms, Canadians own significant portions of British railways, ports, airports, water utilities, energy production, transmission and distribution services (both conventional and renewables), innovation and technology platforms, student housing facilities, office towers, downtown real estate, and more.

We both want an ambitious, inclusive FTA that builds effectively on a relationship that is already 98 percent tariff free.  The talks are on-time and on-track – the 4th round was this week in Canada, the 5th is set for the new year in London.  Good progress is being made and there are no show-stoppers, yet.

On a parallel track, Canada is also supporting the United Kingdom’s application to join the 11 countries who are already members of the “Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership”.  UK membership would broaden and deepen the CPTPP from an economic perspective, as well as geo-politically.

As the first new country to seek accession to the deal, the UK’s application will set a precedent for others to follow – everyone wants the CPTPP’s original high standards (like border rules based on sound science) to be maintained.  So the process is not so much a “negotiation” as it is an “entrance interview” – one that the UK can readily pass once all its proposals are on the table.

Speaking of the Pacific, I must mention Canada’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy which was published last weekend.  It seems to have landed well, and will create new opportunities for Canada-UK collaboration in that region on such priorities as peace and security, trade and investment, sustainability and the fight against climate change.

Let me close – and thank you for your patience – on a couple of other “events” that have had a profound impact the past few months.

Last summer began with the “happy and glorious” celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee in June.  The huge respect and affection for Her Late Majesty was palpable.  And when she died in September, the mourning was broad-spread and genuine, in both our countries.

She often said she felt very much at home in Canada.  Throughout her lifetime, she encouraged Canadians to celebrate our diversity and to strive for both inclusion and excellence to maximize our potential.

King Charles has big shoes to fill, but he has also had the benefit of an unparalleled teacher and role model.  And he is positioned to have a major impact on a pivotal Canadian issue – healing and reconciliation with Indigenous people.  He is well-informed about the Crown’s historic relationship with Indigenous people.  He is truly interested.  And with his Vice-Regal Representative in Canada, our first-ever Indigenous Governor General, Mary Simon, the two of them may be able to shape the course of “events” in a history-making way.

And finally, in case you missed it, since July, the United Kingdom has had three different Prime Ministers and three governments.  To say the least, British politics has been turbulent and a bit unnerving – with many commentaries about the chaos in government and the frailty of democracy.

Let me make two observations in response:

First, democracy can be messy and awkward.  But don’t confuse turmoil within a political party for democratic weakness overall.  At the height of political churn in the UK this past summer, the Constitution always prevailed.  The “worst” thing that got threatened was the calling of an election.  Imagine that – let the voters decide!  Compared to January 6th on Capitol Hill in Washington, the British experience stands up pretty well.

And on the big files in progress between Canada and the UK – standing up for Ukraine, getting good trade agreements, deepening our security, intelligence and defence partnerships, fighting climate change, defending human rights and the rule of law – all of these rolled forward through all the controversies without interruption.

Why?  Because none of that depends on partisanship or politics?

What it does depend on is that centuries-old common heritage which Canada and the UK share.  And our mutual sense of the needs and opportunities of the future.  In a troubled and dangerous world, we need each other as allies, partners and friends.  And the world needs the strength and stability that the UK and Canada can build and accomplish together.

Thank you.

Ralph Goodale is the Canadian High Commissioner to London. Previously he served in senior cabinet positions in successive Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau.