The Hongcouver | Does Canada really have more in common with China than with the US? Democracy, the NHL and an 8,891km border suggest not
Ambassador John McCallum’s comments raise an important question - has he recently suffered a blow to the head?
Justin Trudeau’s man in Beijing, Ambassador John McCallum, has become possessed of a novel notion – that Canada now is more closely aligned in important ways with China than it is with the United States.
Yes, that United States, the one with which Canada shares its most important military alliance, the concepts of universal suffrage and representative elected government, more than US$600 billion in annual trade, the National Hockey League and an 8,891km border.
So, the ambassador’s observations last week raise a number of important questions, not least of which is whether McCallum has recently received a blow to the head or otherwise taken leave of his senses.
In some important policy areas … the policies of the government of Canada are closer to the policies of the government of China than they are to US policies
The former minister for immigration made his remarks on January 19, as he hosted Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard. McCallum was opining on the election of US President Donald Trump and its implications for the China-Canada relationship.