Why Canada is a key partner for France

Speech to the Institut de Recherche et de Communication sur l'Europe by the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Ambassador to France and Monaco and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe

February 16, 2024 - Restaurant des Sénateurs, Paris, France

Senator Yan Chantrel, dear Yan,

Member of the European Parliament, dear Stéphanie Yon-Courtin,

As Canada's Ambassador to France and Monaco and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe, I am pleased to be invited by the President of the Institut de Recherche et de Communication sur l'Europe, Mr. François Charles, to speak to you about Canada's bilateral, European, and international foreign policy. As this is a subject on which I could speak at length, well beyond the dedicated 25 minutes, I shall, if I may, narrow the subject in a way that I think will concern you directly, and so, by answering the following question: in what way is Canada a key partner for France?

Of course, Canada doesn't claim to be as important to France as the United States. Nor is Canada a constant source of concern in the same way as Russia, China or the world's unstable and conflict-ridden zones. Thank God no one in France gets up in the morning and asks: what the heck is going on in Canada? But I will argue in my presentation that when Paris calls Washington, Berlin or London, it's important that Ottawa is also "in the loop".

The French love Canada. They have a real infatuation with it. As ambassador, I meet French people every day who have lived in Canada, who have family members who have settled here, or who want to come here. When I was studying for my doctorate at Sciences Po in the early 1980s, I regularly met Canadian students, especially from Quebec, in Paris; however, conversely, there were very few French students on Canadian campuses at the time. Today, for every Canadian student in France, there are ten French students in Canada.

In the 18th century, France never managed to adequately populate the vast North American territory covered by New France. Today, there's a whole district of Montreal where you can hear French being spoken in the “France way” - le parler pointu, as we say in Quebec!

It's impossible not to note the French craze for Canadian artistic expression, be it French, English or Aboriginal, which was further demonstrated last month when the Angoulême International Comics Festival - the world's largest comics festival - put Canadian 9th art in the spotlight.

So, yes, France loves Canada. The question is now, what does it need Canada for? There are structural answers to this question, unchanging over time, and others that are more prominent by the international context in which we currently live. I'm going to examine them, with particular emphasis on a major issue in which Canada has a crucial role to play: the energy transition to a low-carbon economy.

Canada's fundamental strengths

Let's start with the structural elements. Canada is a semi-continent, optimally located geographically, six hours from Paris, next door to the might of the United States, a window on the Indo-Pacific, custodian of a quarter of the Arctic whose ecological and geostrategic importance continues to grow, and home to deeply rooted indigenous peoples. It's a country with a multicultural population from every continent, but with strong European roots. Not only because of its history, its commemorated role in Europe during the two World Wars, but also because of its economic, social and health policies and its civic culture of solidarity more similar to your own than to those of its southern neighbor, Canada, yes, deserves the title of the most European of non-European countries.

Canada's two official languages are European languages of international scope: French, the only official language of Quebec, one of the two official languages in New Brunswick, and also present elsewhere in the country, and English, a language with which you are familiar.

Like France, and alongside it, Canada has been an architect of the multilateral institutions the world created in the wake of the Second World War. It would be interesting to retrace the essential roles played by our two countries in the construction of contemporary multilateralism, but let's content ourselves with remembering that the two great drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were the Frenchman René Cassin and the Canadian John Humphrey.

Canada has an experienced diplomatic corps present in almost all international forums, including the G7, the G20 and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. The influence of French in the world, and the crucial issue of French language teaching, have led France and Canada to cooperate closely together, as will be seen again this October at the Francophonie summit in Villers-Cotterêts.

Canada is a stable, reliable democracy, a close friend, and an unfailing ally within NATO. One of the essential roles Canada plays as part of the team of democratic countries we form is to be the interlocutor par excellence with the United States, encouraging this superpower to act multilaterally with its allies, rather than unilaterally or in isolation. Canada is well placed to play this essential role, having a deep knowledge of American civilization and its political world (the White House, Congress, the states, the cities), but also its economic universe, its incomparable network of universities, and its cultural and sporting vitality. We Canadians joke that Americans are our best friends... whether we like it or not!

We also say that one of the Canadian Prime Minister's main roles is to keep the border with the United States open. We are an essential ally for all countries, including France, which want to lower American protectionist barriers as much as possible.

Canada is a trading nation, with 15 free trade agreements that give preferential access to a global market whose combined GDP represents 60% of the world's production of goods and services, and where 1.5 billion consumers live, according to the IMF. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement alone offers virtually duty-free access to the U.S. and Mexican markets, including for French investors based in Canada.

Canada is an ideal economic partner for France, both bilaterally and in major international forums such as the OECD, WTO, and World Bank. With its educated and competitive workforce - the most highly educated in the OECD (60% of its population aged 25 to 64 has a higher education) - its excellent universities, its seasoned business class, the second strongest banking system in the G20 and sixth among 141 countries according to the IMF, it's not difficult for Canada to offer France solid economic, scientific, and technological partners.

Franco-Canadian trade in goods and services is at record levels. The stock of Canadian investment in France and French investment in Canada is also at an all-time high and growing fast. I can't help associating these more than encouraging results with the entry into force, 6 years ago, of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union, better known by its acronym CETA.

CETA is a major commercial asset. It's an economic lever that we need to exploit even more, and one that France should of course ratify. There are many good reasons to do so, with very positive results, including for French agriculture, which has significantly increased its exports to Canada. Given our presence tonight at the Senate restaurant, let me remind you that for the ratification of CETA, already endorsed by the National Assembly, a vote is still needed by the Senate. In due course, the French Senators will have the opportunity to show their confidence in the combined strength of our two economies.

Canada's strengths in the current international context

Let me now turn to the elements of the international context that encourage our two countries to draw even closer together. Firstly, on a strictly political level, although the partnership between our two countries goes far beyond party politics and the political vagaries of the moment, the fact remains that certain combinations are even more conducive to cooperation than others. In recent years, we have had two leaders, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau, who are of the same generation and centrist in orientation: both seek a broad center and are wary of extremes.

All over the world, with their own styles and sensibilities, our two governments are pushing in the same direction, including in the world's hottest theaters, such as Gaza and Ukraine. When it comes to Ukraine, it is vital that our two governments, our two diplomatic corps, continue to work together to ensure that support for this country remains resolute and unwavering, both in the United States and in Europe. As the war drags on, it is to be expected that public support in many allied countries will wane, and that in some of them, support for Ukraine will cease to be a consensus and even become a partisan issue.

We must remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine. We must support Ukraine not only for its own sake, but for the sake of the whole world. It must be proven once and for all that a country gains nothing by trying to invade its neighbor. It is of the utmost importance to demonstrate to the world that the crime of invasion does not pay. This is a test of universal scope that goes beyond the European framework, but one that Europe must pass, with the unfailing support of its Atlantic allies: the United States and Canada.

We don't know what the outcome of the American elections on November 5, 2024. This is all the more reason for us to work together to find the right way to promote, come what may, a multilateral and coherent U.S. foreign policy, rather than an isolationist one. Canada knows it has a key role to play here and is preparing for all scenarios.

Both the French and Canadian governments are resolutely pro-European Union. The Canadian government sees the European Union as nothing less than a superb achievement for humanity, a crucial ally, an essential instrument for peace and democracy in the world. Ideally, we would like to see Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and all the Balkans join the European Union as soon as possible. This would encourage economic progress and democratic advances in these countries, as well as better protect them from Russian and Chinese influence.

But on the other hand, Canada understands the prudence of France and the European Union in ensuring in advance that all these countries, once accepted into the Union, will be part of the solution, rather than adding to the problems of cohesion in terms of respect for democracy, the rule of law and strong support for NATO.

Canada needs a functional and effective European Union, supporting democracy and the rule of law everywhere. We are intensifying our efforts with France and other well-established democracies to help those countries knocking at the door of the European Union to improve their democratic practices, good governance, respect for the rule of law and promotion of the rights of women and minorities. The fate of fragile democracies, in Europe and in other continents, and which must not slide into autocracy, is a key issue that calls for greater cooperation between France and Canada.

Canada also wants the European market to remain open to trade and innovation. In response to U.S. protectionism and to guard against Chinese competition, the European Union tends to adopt protective border and tax policies that risk making Canada a collateral victim. Hence our interest in maintaining a European Union that is coherent, functional and open to our arguments in favor of the inclusive trade that is our country's trademark, rather than an incoherent Europe, fragmented by self-centered nationalism.

One of the protective measures that the European Union is putting in place is a carbon pricing mechanism that it will impose at its border against countries that do not apply carbon pricing at home. Canada has successfully argued in Brussels, Paris and other European capitals, and again at the latest Canada-EU summit held last November in St. John's, Newfoundland, that since we have our own carbon pricing system in place, Canadian products should enter the European market without the barriers associated with this new mechanism.

Canada's crucial role in the energy transition to a low-carbon economy

This crucial question of carbon pricing brings me to one of the main reasons why France has every interest in strengthening its already strong ties with Canada.

It turns out that Canada plays a crucial role in the transition to a low-carbon economy, as one of the few countries that combines an advanced economy with a land rich in natural resources. These include rare earths, cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite, copper, etc. These natural resources are essential to fuel the global transition to a low-carbon, digital economy. The aim is to bring to the French and international markets the critical minerals and metals that are essential for everything from batteries to electric cars.

Canada currently produces 22 of the 31 critical minerals it has prioritized, with dozens of projects under development and many more in active exploration. More specifically, Canada ranks among the world's leading producers of palladium, titanium, platinum and nickel. It is also the world's second-largest producer of uranium, a highly strategic resource essential to powering France's nuclear power plants.

France and other European countries intend to accelerate the development of renewable energies and clean hydrogen, now seen not only as an ecological necessity, but also as a strategic asset and a security policy. This will, of course, intensify the EU's urgent need for critical materials. Lithium demand in France and Europe will increase elevenfold by 2030, while demand for rare earths is set to more than quadruple.

To date, the extraction, processing and transformation of these strategic minerals and metals are all too often concentrated in the hands of a few autocratic states.

China, for example, controls almost all the world's supply of certain metals, such as gallium and germanium, which are essential for the manufacture of semi-conductors, and now chooses to restrict exports for geopolitical reasons. It's, therefore, a good thing that a democratic country like Canada offers an alternative source of supply, thus avoiding over-dependency on a non-democratic regime.

Canada also boasts world-class mining expertise. Nearly half of the world's listed mining and exploration companies are registered in Canada. The Canadian government is positioning itself as a world leader in sustainable development at every stage of the essential materials supply chain. This is precisely what the International Energy Agency is asking Canada to do: to increasingly assert itself as the leading mining nation for the sustainable and responsible development of minerals.

The fact is, however, that Canada will need huge investments to meet the increasingly pressing global demand for these critical resources. The Americans, the Japanese and the Germans are investing more and more in Canada. In fact, by 2023, according to the OECD, Canada will be the third largest recipient of foreign direct investment. The French need to get on board too, resolutely and without delay. There's Thales in New Brunswick; Air Liquide for hydrogen production in Quebec; Stellantis for battery production in Ontario; Roquette for plant proteins in Manitoba; Orano for uranium in Saskatchewan; and a host of French renewable energy projects in Alberta and across the country.

In the space of a few decades, humanity must change nothing less than the material basis of its industrial civilization: from organic (hydrocarbons: oil, gas and coal) to mineral (critical materials). Canada's contribution will be essential to this energy transition. The leadership of technologically advanced countries like France and Canada is needed to halt global warming and biodiversity loss, so that humanity can reconcile itself with the planet. Well, this will require a lot of French investment in Canada, a lot of Canadian presence in France, intense cooperation between our two countries, within our respective economies and around the world, in all the forums where the fight for sustainable development is at stake. In short, France and Canada urgently need each other to make the energy transition a success.

Conclusion: Franco-Canadian friendship as a model for the world

There are many other subjects we could discuss, including the Indo-Pacific strategies our two countries have just adopted, which are not without similarities; they support closer cooperation in this fast-growing region of the world. But I must conclude, if I am to respect the 25 minutes you have allotted me.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this year, Canada will be holding the first joint Council of Ministers in its history. And with which country will it be held? Yes, with France! It's a sign of the times. For all the issues I've just raised with you, from energy transition to the development of the French language, France and Canada are key players. Increased cooperation between France and Canada is crucial not only for our two countries, but also for the world.

Imagine a world where every country on earth enjoyed a friendship as deep and fruitful as that between France and Canada. Can we dream of such a world? In any case, France and Canada must work harder than ever, shoulder to shoulder, because it's one of the most beautiful ideals we can give ourselves.