The government's new strategy amounts to a constructive engagement that will invigorate Canada's presence in the North

The federal government is striking the right pragmatic note in expressing its resolve to settle international disputes in the Arctic and to make the eight-nation Arctic Council more effective.

The Department of Foreign Affairs' new policy paper presents "exercising our sovereignty" as the first of four pillars of Canada's northern strategy. The actual exercise of that…

Twenty-two years after his death, John Holmes remains one of the greatest statespeople this country has ever known.

This past week marked the 22nd anniversary of the passing of one of the most incredible, and underappreciated Canadians in our history. Although news of his death was carried in major newspapers across Canada, the United States, and even Great Britain, John Wendell Holmes, and everything that he stood for, has faded from the memories of all but those who were closest to him.

In…

There are signs Canadians are finally looking out for their self-interest. To make progress, the leadership must come from Ottawa.

In recent months, Canada has been standing taller on the international stage. Taller than what? Well, taller than before. And taller than a number of countries whose profile has been shrinking of late, thanks to their economic profligacy. 

But there are a number of factors contributing to our enlarged image, including our Prime Minister's disciplined stewardship…

The malaise in Canada's international development programming and in its main protagonist, CIDA, has been the subject of many studies, parliamentary reviews and media articles over the years. Two recently released studies have addressed the problem head-on.

The first, Reinventing CIDA, was published in May by the Canadian International Council and the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. The second, Open Canada: A Global Positioning Strategy for a Networked Age, was published in…

I'm finally doing it. Twenty years after moving to this country from the U.S., I'm becoming a Canadian citizen: took my citizenship test Tuesday, and I'm pretty sure I aced it.

But the Canada that welcomed me two decades ago is a much different nation than the Canada that surrounds me now. It was so refreshing to find myself in a country where looking after the well being of your fellow citizens - in your town, in your country, around the world - was intrinsic to the national culture, a far…

A new report by the Canadian International Council offers a set of prescriptions about how to harness the potential of the world's fastest-growing market.

After a few years of frosty relations with China, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has woken up to the importance of courting the world's largest exporter, and the region more generally. Last month, before the G8/G20 summits began, he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and on the conference's final day, received Indian Prime Minister…

Canada is a great nation. It is rich in resources, enjoys a high standard of living, serves with distinction as a-peacekeeper, is a role model for multiculturalism and has earned a place at the table in multilateral negotiations.

Yet, despite hosting the G8 and G20 summits this summer, Canada does not play a leading role in international affairs. The reasons it doesn't, why it should and how it can are lucidly addressed in Open Canada: A Global Positioning Strategy for a Networked Age report…

Expectations of a better standard of living by both rich and poor have blinded many of us to the consequences, as evident in the failure of the Copenhagen climate-change conference to achieve a firm consensus. Today, leaders of the Arctic countries are faced with a similar conflict as a result of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The risk of such a spill in the Arctic, whether from offshore drilling or commercial shipping, has pitted environmental safety against the insatiable desire for…

Debate rages over whether 'soft-law' approach can cope with hard issues of sovereignty that lie ahead

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - The U.S. air force is preparing for the day this summer when Russian fighters fly into Alaska's air space just as their bombers have done several times since Cold War exercises in the Arctic resumed three years ago. But this time, the Americans won't be scrambling jets out of Elmendorf Air Base to intercept them, as they did in the past.

In what promises to be a milestone in…