Among the global population, Canada’s reputation shines. According to the Nation Brands Index, its people and its government are well admired. In fact, its governmental system is the most admired in terms of international perceptions (whereas the United States ranks 18th). With such glowing reviews, has Canada fully lived up to its public diplomacy goals? What more can be done?
These were the questions addressed at this month’s First Monday Forum, which took place virtually on August 2nd. The event, sponsored by CCLP, the Public Diplomacy Council, and the Public Diplomacy Association of America, was moderated by Nick Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy and CCLP’s Global Communication Policy Fellow, whose panel of colleagues included:
- Michael Hawes, Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Canada Fulbright Commission and Professor of International Relations at Queen’s University
- Sarah E. K. Smith, Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Carleton University
- Mark Kristmanson, former Chief Executive Officer of the National Capital Commission in Ottawa
The panel discussion was sparked by the recent publication of Canada’s Public Diplomacy, co-edited by Cull and Hawes. Each panelist summarized the chapter he or she contributed to the book and spoke about potential directions for Canadian public diplomacy today.
Hawes’s chapter assesses whether or not Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration has lived up to its claim of a successful commitment to internationalism. “What I did in this chapter is try to situate our public diplomacy initiatives in the context of our larger postwar reality,” said Hawes, regarding Canada’s recent efforts. He finds that Trudeau’s record has been inconsistent, including triumphs such as maintaining an active role in major international meetings, as well as missteps, such as downplaying the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Looking towards the future, Hawes expressed that it is important to “pay attention to what public diplomacy might look like given the fact that the world is changing.” His studies indicate three major steps that can improve Canada’s public diplomacy: recreating the balance between the digital and the physical, focusing on the position of individual Canadian cities within the world, and building more capacity for diplomats to obtain the skills they need.
Approaching public diplomacy from a cultural perspective, Smith’s chapter presents a case study on “49th Parallel,” an art gallery that ran in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood from 1981 to 1992. The gallery was devised by Canada’s Department of Global Affairs and presented contemporary, experimental Canadian art, demonstrating a bold deviation from the typically historical and traditional styles that dominated foreign cultural centers. While 49th Parallel’s effectiveness is contested, Smith believes that the project offers valuable lessons, such as its “history of innovation” and an “instructive example for new avenues we could consider going forward.” Additionally, Smith pushes for such experiments to be measured qualitatively in addition to the quantitative metrics that are often applied when gaging their success.
Kristmanson also analyzed the power of tangible culture, specifically in the form of diplomatic gifts between cities. His chapter focuses on Canada’s 150th Anniversary celebration in 2017, an event which debuted several installations from different parts of the world at the International Pavilion in Ottawa. Kristmanson recounted that one of the most successful projects was a fifty-acre display of giant floral sculptures, which included “an instance of horticultural diplomacy” in the form of a “Chinese gift of two dragons vying for a pearl.” The display attracted over one million visitors, promoting a connection of not only world leaders, but representations of entire societies and histories.
When asked about potential weak points in Canada’s public diplomacy, the scholars were quick to point out the nation’s legacy of colonialism. Earlier this summer, for instance, hundreds of unmarked graves were found at the site of a former residential school in Saskatchewan, where indigenous youth were pushed towards assimilation during the 19th and 20th centuries (with funding from the Canadian government). Acknowledging other issues, such as increased isolationism and political polarization, the panelists agreed that it is time for Canada to face its greatest difficulties head-on. With a respectable standing on the world stage, the Great White North is uniquely positioned to open a transparent dialogue about challenges both domestic and international.