As Justin Trudeau’s once wildly popular government approaches two years in office, there are questions about what both its domestic and foreign policy legacy will be.

Canada has long enjoyed a world reputation as a haven of peace, security and democracy. The work accomplished by Canadian diplomats in defusing the Suez Crisis in the 1950s, engineering the Canadian Caper of 1979 and its involvement in other hot spots including the Balkans in the 1990s helped the country gain the reputation as a formidable peacemaker and instrument for international good.

Although it donates less than the OECD yearly minimum for international aid, Canada has done its share in helping Africa and other needy zones with technical assistance, food aid and disaster relief when required. Towards the end of the 20th century when international aid gave way to the war on terror, Canada responded by sending its troops to Afghanistan as part of the NATO coalition.

A country of immigrants itself, Canada has demonstrated its willingness to take in refugees like the boat people exodus from Vietnam in the late 1970s. More recently, the present government led by Justin Trudeau has brought in more than 40,000 Syrian refuges to date.

Those fleeing the new Trump regime in the USA are now flocking to Canada by crossing the US border near Québec and claiming asylum. Despite the renegotiation of NAFTA, Canada remains a rich country with all the attributes of a civilised welfare state where the state of race relations is much less of an issue than in European and US jurisdictions.

All of these reasons add to the 150th anniversary celebrations of a country that is the envy of the world. Aside from a tough wintry climate several months of the year, what could go wrong?

However, cracks can be observed in this northern paradise.

Harper’s Legacy

The story begins with the defeat of the Conservative Party government of Stephen Harper in October 2015. For nine years, this grim, tight-fisted government defied all of the former attributes that made Canada special and recognised abroad.

Warlike, Harper and his cohorts reversed course and supported their American allies by sending troops to Afghanistan to kill, not to make peace. In foreign policy, the government threw diplomacy to the wind (along with a seat on the UN Security Council) and eschewed an even-handed approach whether it was Russian aggression in the Ukraine, the Arab-Israeli dispute in the Middle East or human rights in China.

Understandably Canada’s world influence began to wane. Arab states were left dumbfounded by Canada’s new voting pattern at the UN on Palestinian issues. International aid was cut and refugees like the Syrian war victims were left to fend for themselves.

On the environmental side, the Harper government ignored the Kyoto agreement that the previous Canadian government had signed and allowed the oil industry to pollute to the maximum using carbon emission targets while scarring the countryside in a ruthless rush for profit.

Inside the country, tensions rose. Canadians were unaccustomed to looking at themselves in the mirror and seeing cracks. Many longed for the past euphoric vision of goodness and goodwill, nurturing for all and all for one. They would be sorely disappointed.

Trudeau’s arrival

In an electoral reversal, the country’s foreign image appeared to have been saved from its downward spiral by the arrival of Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party. Determined to undo the damaging Harper legacy, Trudeau promised a ‘New Deal’ for Canadians, or rather a return to the ‘Old Deal’. For most Canadians, it didn’t matter that much which deal, since most were sickened by the incompetence and ineptitude of the Harper government’s foreign and domestic policies. Trudeau promised to fix the cracks that were beginning to give rise to the tensions inside the country. He would reverse the downward spiral of its foreign policy.

Things started off well. The Liberal promise to bring in more than 20,000 Syrian refugees in a short timeframe actually happened despite some grumbling about not enough security screening and the like. It was magnificent. Then, however, the wheels began to come off the Liberal Party platform for renewal. For example, Canadians learned that the promised electoral reform would not happen. This intended reform effort was aimed at enfranchising more Canadians at the ballot box so that governments could not rule as majorities with around 30-35 per cent of the vote. These ‘minority’ governments acted as majority governments despite the negative verdict of the popular vote. Most experts agreed that some form of proportional representation was required to democratise the electoral process. Not so according to Trudeau who made a unilateral decision to dump the entire process. So much for the popular will.

Then another curious thing happened. The Liberals, in opposition, had castigated the Conservatives for handing over their Afghan prisoners to uncertified and dubious Afghan and foreign authorities. Allegations of torture were rife. A Canadian diplomat whistleblower revealed the practice and testified about the prior knowledge shared amongst Conservative Party ministers. The bumbling Harper coverup didn’t work. Post October 2015 however, the Trudeau Liberals proceeded to do exactly what the Harper goons did. They canned the investigation pure and simple. So much for the peacemaking hypocrisy.

No electoral reform, no Afghan detainee investigation. What next?

It wasn’t long in coming. Ironically, Trudeau’s photo opportunities with First Nations leaders were and continue to be key to his popularity. Meanwhile, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission designed to unearth the truth about murdered and missing indigenous girls and possible police impropriety – so reviled and delayed by the Harper government – has become a painful and public failure under the Trudeau watch.

Nowhere is the deception and disgust worse than on the environmental file. Canada signed the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change but continues to use the carbon emission targets of the Harper government. The bulk of work and responsibility to implement a carbon tax falls to the provinces.

In addition to dumping the environmental file in the provinces’ collective laps, Trudeau’s government has approved a pipeline through pristine British Columbia, parts of which belong to the First Nations. Is this the look of a government dedicated to a better planet?

The tale could go on: empowering an appointed Senate of which a number of illustrious appointees have demonstrated an ethical intuition similar to that of an alley cat in heat; a banking industry unchecked that remains unresponsive to its consumers; and Trudeau’s own playful hobnobbing and influence peddling with the Aga Khan and his foundation in the Caribbean at taxpayer’s expense. The list is ponderous.

The cracks that appeared under the Harper government have not disappeared under the stewardship of Justin Trudeau. The cracks are deeper than ever and a hapless and feckless Liberal foreign policy is fast eroding past accolades. The tensions engendered will not subside.

Dr Bruce Mabley is the director of the Mackenzie-Papineau Group think tank based in Montreal devoted to analysis of international politics. He was formerly a Canadian diplomat and served in Turkey at the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Licence, and may be republished with attribution.