Anita Anand Delivers GREAT Speech at the UN for Canada

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand addressed the United Nations General Assembly and described a rupture in the global order. In this episode of The Canadian Podcast, we go through the core of her speech. Anand said the tide has turned. Great powers are walking away from economic cooperation and too often treating the sovereignty of other states with disdain. Canada’s answer is greater strategic autonomy: the ability to make its own choices, reduce over-reliance on any one partner, and build stronger relationships with both new and old partners. She outlined issue-based coalitions, including more than thirty partners on Ukraine, the Arctic Seven, and the Nordic-Baltic Eight, and announced the Partners for Multilateralism initiative to reform the UN and other institutions. On the economy she pointed to a goal of $1 trillion in investment over five years, more than twenty new economic and defence partnerships, and nearly $500 billion committed at the first Canada Investment Summit. She said Canada is deepening ties with Europe through an Alliance for the Future and expanding work beyond North America. On security she said Canada is making the largest defence investments in generations, with spending already above 2% of GDP and a path toward NATO’s 5% pledge by 2035. The Arctic, she argued, is central to Canadian identity and security, with new steps including a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland. She closed by rejecting nostalgia and despair. Canada will move with confidence, keep long-term partnerships, and deal with the world as it is. Subscribe to The Canadian Podcast for analysis of Canadian foreign policy, the United Nations, Canada–U.S. relations, Europe, and the decisions shaping the country at home and abroad.