Canada’s loss of UN Security Council seat a blow to Trudeau

TORONTO (AP) — Justin Trudeau arrived on the world stage with rock star popularity in 2015.

He declared “Canada is back” and made winning a seat on the powerful United Nations Security Council a top foreign policy priority.

But Canada lost out to Norway and Ireland this week in a three-way race for two seats.

It was Canada’s second consecutive defeat in a bid for a seat and an especially big blow to Trudeau.

“There is no doubt that this is not the result I was hoping for,” the prime minister said a day after Wednesday’s vote.

Trudeau blamed the loss on Canada’s late start in campaigning for the seats. Norway and Ireland had declared their candidacies for the seats well before Trudeau was elected in 2015, after which he announced Canada’s intention to run.

“The reality was, coming in five years later than them gave us a delay that we unfortunately weren’t able to overcome,” Trudeau said. He gave no other reasons why Canada lost.

The loss was especially embarrassing because of Canada’s stature as an economic powerhouse, part of the G7 and a member of NATO.

Some UN diplomats say Canada ran a good campaign, maybe even the best campaign, but added that when it comes to voting at the United Nations, especially by a secret ballot, governments have many other considerations.

As part of North America, some experts say Canada suffers because of its geographic association with the United States, even though Trudeau and President Donald Trump often don’t see eye-to-eye on issues like free trade and climate change.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.