Canada’s Shift Towards the Indo-Pacific: Economic and Trade Aspects
| Published date | 01 October 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208817231172367 |
| Author | Shubham Verma |
| Date | 01 October 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Research Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/00208817231172367
International Studies
60(4) 401 –416, 2023
© 2023 Jawaharlal Nehru University
Article reuse guidelines:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/00208817231172367
journals.sagepub.com/home/isq
Research Article
Canada’s Shift Towards
the Indo-Pacific:
Economic and
Trade Aspects
Shubham Verma1
Abstract
Canada had always been considered as an Atlantic nation because of its strong
traditional ties with the Europe. The paper is an attempt to analyse this
conception of Canada and it tries to establish Canada as a Pacific nation. It
primarily focuses on Canada’s economic and trade ties with the Asian and Pacific
countries. The paper investigates the earlier Asia-Pacific constructs and attempts
to explain the gradual shift towards the construct of Indo-Pacific. It also underlies
the subtle difference between the two constructs. In an attempt to establish this
the paper focuses on Canada’s potential to develop an Indo-Pacific construct
which is based on its position of rule of law and liberal internationalism and
cooperation with like-minded countries. The paper analyses Canada’s position
in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership and how this
could help Canada to justify and develop its Indo-Pacific narrative.
Keywords
Asian–Pacific, diplomacy, economics, foreign policy analysis, international politics,
politics of Canada
Introduction
Canada as a country has a very distinct geography as it is bordered by the world’s
three major Oceans, that is, the Atlantic, Arctic and the Pacific Ocean, thereby
naturally getting a global outlook in its foreign and economic policies. For Canada,
the North Atlantic had been the centre of focus for its military, economic, cultural
and diplomatic ties throughout the country’s history (Holmes, 1971). As a country,
1Centre for Canadian, US, and Latin American Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Corresponding author:
Shubham Verma, Centre for Canadian, US, and Latin American Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi 110067, India.
E-mail: shub3192@gmail.com
402 International Studies 60(4)
Canada was made out of the British and the French colonial venture while it also
shares a long-stretched border with the most powerful country in the world, the
USA. Therefore, Canada had been prudent to stick with the triumvirate of world
superpower and major powers represented by the USA, the United Kingdom and
France. Close to half of Canada’s population is settled along the St. Lawrence River
basin, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, Canada also had a world
view which followed a similar stream (Wyeth, 2019). However, Canada had not
been aloof from its Pacific connection. It had also long imagined itself as a Pacific
country, the Canadian soldiers participated in the Second World War in defence of
Hong Kong and also served in the Korean War. It became the Association of South
East Asian Nations (ASEAN) dialogue partner in 1977 and had been instrumental
in the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in
1989 and becoming an observer in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF; Manicom,
2014). With the turn of the century, Canada’s Pacific connection waned away as its
trade ties deepened more in the Americas. In the earliest days of then Prime Minister
(PM), Stephen Harper exhibited this neglect which was evident from his government
alienating China as a part of ‘principled’ foreign policy exhibited by his decline to
attend the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics and the House of Commons
conferring honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama in 2007. The ‘strategic
partnership’ that the earlier Paul Martin’s Liberal government had negotiated with
China was left to dust (Stephens, 2012).
Yet all these started to change again with the start of 2009 as the Canadian
government started to invest considerable resources to increase the trade and
investment in the Asian economies. This effort emerges from the international
dimension of Ottawa’s ‘prosperity’ agenda which seeks to diversify Canada’s
trade partners into the developing markets of the Asia Pacific and Latin American
region. Initially, China had been the leading Asian partner in economic
engagement, but Canada also focused on the other Asian and Pacific economies.
It acceded to ASEAN’s ‘Treaty of Amity and Cooperation’ as a first step to
re-engage with the Southeast Asian states (Manicom, 2014). Canada continued its
re-engagement process by establishing the ASEAN-Canada Business Council in
Singapore. Economic prerogatives were the main focus of Canada’s re-engagement.
It wanted to reduce its excessive dependence on the market of the USA which in
the time saw economic stagnation, rhetoric on protectionism and a vocal resistance
to Canadian energy projects. All this showed that the Canadian reliance on the
USA is not a growth strategy.
The search for diversification of the Canadian market and the growing Asia-
Pacific economies had led to the establishment of a strong trade and investment
relationship between the two. China is now the second largest partner of Canada
in terms of trading. It is anticipated that China will eventually overtake the USA
as Canada’s largest trading partner (Manicom, 2014). Japan is the next biggest
Asian economy which is the sixth largest source of Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) worldwide and the fourth major trade partner for Canada. Australia, a
powerful economy in the Pacific, ranked eighth on the list of foreign direct
investment destinations for Canadian companies. Canada's bilateral trade with
India in 2017 was $8 billion, compared to $23 billion with ASEAN (Government
To continue reading
Request your trial