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HomeEventsPanel — After the Two Michaels: How Should Canada Navigate the U.S.-China Rivalry?

Panel — After the Two Michaels: How Should Canada Navigate the U.S.-China Rivalry?

Image credit: Zarina Petrova

On Monday October 4th, the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) hosted a panel titled, “After the Two Michaels: How should Canada navigate the US-China rivalry?“. The virtual panel was held from 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM (EST) and can be watched on YouTube.

The past three years have witnessed a sharp downturn in Canada-China relations, most notably due to the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and the subsequent detention of the two Michaels. However, doubts linger about whether the US remains a reliable partner for Canada on the world stage, with Washington’s penchant for unilateralism under Donald Trump having not entirely abated during the Biden administration. An increasingly assertive China requires a robust Canadian response in several policy spheres. But in an era of unpredictable great power rivalry, Canada cannot fall entirely in line behind the United States if it wishes to preserve an independent foreign policy. In the wake of the 2021 federal election and the return of the two Michaels, what policy options and strategic choices does the new Trudeau government face when it comes to navigating the deepening Sino-American rivalry? Is Canada’s status quo posture tenable? Or do mounting international pressures require a clearer, more coherent and more detailed Canadian strategy?

Moderator:
Zachary Paikin: Non-resident Fellow at IPD and a Researcher in EU Foreign Policy at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels (CEPS)

Panelists:
Senator Yuen Pau Woo: Independent Senator from British Columbia. Former president and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation (APF)
Kim Richard Nossal: Professor emeritus in the Department of Political Studies and the Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen’s University
Henri-Paul Normandin: Former Canadian Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Former Counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in China

Amy Karam: Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a global competitive strategist, 5G thought leader, lecturer for Stanford, Duke and McGill universities and author of THE CHINA FACTOR: Leveraging Emerging Business Strategies to Compete, Grow and Win in the New Global Economy based on her experience at Cisco, USA leading a Huawei competitive intelligence program.

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