The Middle East in Canadian foreign policy and national identity formation

Jeremy Wildeman

doi:10.1177/00207020211049326

Abstract

While often overlooked, the Middle East has been a pivotal geographical and discursive space in Canadian foreign policy and national identity formation. The region was the birthplace of Canada’s liberal internationalist foreign policy identity, Pearsonianism, and the national myths associated with it. The Middle East also appears to be where Pearsonianism was later superseded by a more realist foreign policy approach, centred on key bilateral relationships with Western countries and a shared sense of Western civilisation. For reasons tied to identity formation and how Canadians perceive their place in the world, the Middle East is therefore a deeply contested space in the domestic arena and a site of deep divisions today. With the support of three contemporary case studies—Israel and Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Iran—this paper explores how Canada’s ties to the Middle East have shaped and continue to shape Canada’s foreign policy, national identity, and place in the world.

Highlights

The Middle East has, is, and will remain a region of vital geostrategic importance that Canada cannot ignore
The Middle East is where Canada’s liberal internationalist identity has been most contested, and has been, as this paper describes, superseded by a more realist approach that is centred on key bilateral relationships based on a sense of Western civilisation
When Trudeau announced “Canada is back,” the impression was given that Harper was an aberration, and optimism abounded that Canada would return to a more fair-minded approach to Middle East politics, starting with Israel and Palestine (Figure 2).[41]

Summary

Canada and the Middle East

Since 1947, the Middle East has been an area of concern for Canada, and at times, Canada has been an important actor in the region. Significant Canadian resources have been marshalled in response to the crisis in Syria and Iraq, with C$3.5 billion committed between 2016 and 2021; while 44,620 Syrian refugees were admitted to Canada between November 2015 and October 2020.12 Violence in the region even played a role in a 2015 Canadian election campaign tinged with Islamophobic rhetoric, when the Harper Conservative government promised to keep Canadians safe from Muslim terrorists, passed the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act targeting Muslim Canadians and promised a “barbaric cultural practices hotline.” For their part, the Trudeau Liberals offered to make Canada welcoming to Syrian refugees, while they and the New Democratic Party (NDP) challenged some of the Conservatives’ most Islamophobic rhetoric (Figure 1) Significant Canadian resources have been marshalled in response to the crisis in Syria and Iraq, with C$3.5 billion committed between 2016 and 2021; while 44,620 Syrian refugees were admitted to Canada between November 2015 and October 2020.12 Violence in the region even played a role in a 2015 Canadian election campaign tinged with Islamophobic rhetoric, when the Harper Conservative government promised to keep Canadians safe from Muslim terrorists, passed the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act targeting Muslim Canadians and promised a “barbaric cultural practices hotline.” For their part, the Trudeau Liberals offered to make Canada welcoming to Syrian refugees, while they and the New Democratic Party (NDP) challenged some of the Conservatives’ most Islamophobic rhetoric (Figure 1)

The Middle East and Canadian identity

Israel and Palestine

Saudi Arabia

Conclusion