Canada Loses its Bid at United Nations Security Council

In a major setback to Prime Minister Trudeau’s highest foreign policy priority, Canada lost its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council  to Ireland and Norway.

Canada could secure only 108 votes while Norway and Ireland secured 130 votes and 128 votes respectively. A total of 128 votes were needed to secure a two-thirds majority. The 193 ambassadors from UN member states casted their votes via secret ballot in a staggered and assigned voting periods amidst Covid-19 preventive measures.

It’s the second time in a decade that Canada has failed to secure a seat on the UN’s Security Council.  For years, the Trudeau government has criticized former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper for withdrawing Canada from the 2010 Security Council race after it became clear it would lose to Portugal. However, Canada obtained less support Wednesday than it did a decade ago, only garnering 108 votes compared with the 114 that it got on the first round of elections in 2010.

Despite the loss, Mr. Trudeau said Canada will continue to promote its values of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights on the world stage.

“We will continue to pursue this approach at the United Nations and in other international forums – because Canada does well, and Canadians do well, when we strengthen our international relationships and fully engage on the world stage.” Mr. Trudeau said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was quick to criticize Trudeau government for the loss via Twitter.  “Another foreign affairs failure for Justin Trudeau. He sold out Canada’s principles for a personal vanity project and still lost. What a waste”, Mr Scheer tweeted.

NDP foreign-affairs critic Jack Harris said Canada came into the campaign too late and Wednesday’s loss is a “wake-up call” for the Liberal government that it isn’t doing enough when it comes to development, peacekeeping, climate change and human rights.

“Prime Minister Trudeau announced in 2015 that ‘Canada is back!’ but there is little to show for it,” Mr. Harris said in a statement.

The Security Council holds ten seats for temporary members that join the table for two-year terms. The council has five permanent members — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China — which have the power to veto resolutions.