11. Inexpensive Leadership: On Canada's Global Normative Position and Its Potentials
- Author:
- Amir Mirtaheri
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- On the global stage, Canada holds a special status in many ways. This comes from a peculiar combination of Canada's geography, population and history on the one hand and its position vis - à - vis the rest of the world and especially the rest of the West on the other. It is the second largest country in the world and yet has a relatively low population of about 34 million based on the 2009 UN estimation. This latter characteristic can be seen as one of Canada's main strategic challenges in the path of becoming a major player in global affairs. A country with significant reservoirs of natural resources, Canada has been trying to add to its pool of human resources by admitting over six million migrants based on United Nations (UN) 2006 estimations. Although there have been vigorous debates in the country about immigration and the notion of multiculturalism, Canada has been relatively more successful compared to most (if not all) European countries in enriching its social tapestry through embracing more tolerant policies towards immigration. This has rendered Canada better - positioned to address inherent challenges in opening the doors to people of various cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Despite the lack of a major or urgent security threat, Canada is an integral part of NATO, one of the most enduring security organizations in recent history. Still, it has not come under fire, by and large, for being an arrogant power. It is an important part of global economy as according to the World Trade Organization: in 2007 Canada was the tenth largest exporter and the tenth largest importer of merchandise in the world. The same report estimates that excluding the intra - EU trade; yet, in the same year, Canada was the fifth largest exporter and the fifth largest importer of merchandise in the world. Despite this high profile in global trade, Canada's external image does not severely suffer from a record of colonialism (in contrast to Europe or Japan), neither has it been accused of neo - colonialism (in contrast to the United States or China.
- Topic:
- NATO and Population
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, Europe, and Canada