Abstract
The Trudeau government currently confronts a complex bundle of challenges as it seeks to follow through on an ambitious and activist international environmental policy agenda. The first is how Canada can pursue its objectives given an unpredictable and environmentally unfriendly neighbour to the south. The Trump Effect throws into stark relief Canada’s continuing struggle to balance bilateralism and multilateralism in its foreign environmental policy, yet the current situation is also unique in terms of its severity. This first and fundamental challenge is interwoven with Canada’s long-standing internal debate about the appropriate balance between economic pragmatism and environmental ideals in its foreign policy, particularly as the new US administration threatens to upend existing trade and economic relationships. Canada must also decide where to look to find alternative strategic partners for its multilateral environmental efforts. While a series of overtures have been made to China, particularly in terms of fostering alternative energy markets, Latin America—via Mexico—offers opportunities as well. This chapter explores each of these dynamics and also shows the ways in which they are interlinked. It also portrays a strategic and committed Trudeau government which has responded, thus far, quite nimbly to changing conditions on this file.
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Notes
- 1.
MacDiarmid (2015).
- 2.
Liberal Party of Canada (2015b).
- 3.
Ibid., (2015c).
- 4.
Ibid., (2015a).
- 5.
MacDiarmid (2015).
- 6.
Berthiaume (2014).
- 7.
Ibid. (2015).
- 8.
Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (2015a).
- 9.
Ibid.
- 10.
Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (2017c).
- 11.
For information on the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, please see https://www.carbonpricingleadership.org/
- 12.
Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (2015b).
- 13.
Mas and Cullen (2016).
- 14.
The World Bank (2016).
- 15.
Macdonald (2010, 111–124).
- 16.
Gottlieb (2005).
- 17.
- 18.
Van Nijnatten (2014).
- 19.
Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (2016a).
- 20.
Blanchfield (2016).
- 21.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2016).
- 22.
Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (2016b).
- 23.
Ibid., (2015).
- 24.
Van Nijnatten and Lopez-Vallej (forthcoming).
- 25.
For information on the Climate & Clean Air Coalition, please see http://www.ccacoalition.org/en/partners
- 26.
Mooney and Dennis (2017).
- 27.
- 28.
The White House (2017c).
- 29.
Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (2017b).
- 30.
The White House (2017b).
- 31.
Ibid., (2017a).
- 32.
CBC News (2016).
- 33.
Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (2017a).
- 34.
For example, Trump sought to reassure European leaders in early June 2017 that America “remains committed to … robust efforts to protect the environment,” noting “America’s strong record in reducing emissions and leading the development of clean energy technology” (The White House 2017d).
- 35.
Demerse (2017).
- 36.
For information on the Framework, please see https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/pan-canadian-framework.html
- 37.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2017a).
- 38.
Ibid., (2017b).
- 39.
Craik and Prior (2016, 197–216).
- 40.
Ibid., 211.
- 41.
Van Nijnatten (2016, XII–XIII).
- 42.
Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development (2002).
- 43.
Liberal Party of Canada (2015a).
- 44.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2016).
- 45.
Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada (2016).
- 46.
Wherry (2017).
- 47.
Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada (2016).
- 48.
Office of the Premier of Ontario (2016).
- 49.
Craik and Van Nijnatten (2016, 1–40).
- 50.
Pastor (2011).
- 51.
Rand and Hamilton (2017).
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Van Nijnatten, D. (2018). Canada’s International Environmental Policy: Trudeau’s Trifecta of Challenges. In: Hillmer, N., Lagassé, P. (eds) Justin Trudeau and Canadian Foreign Policy. Canada and International Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73860-4_6
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