Trudeau to reaffirm Canada’s ties to Cuba

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/11/2016 (3481 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Cubans have been waiting for Justin Trudeau to visit Old Havana since he became Liberal party leader in 2013. They had planned to unveil a statue of his father to symbolize the warmth and depth of the Canada-Cuba relationship.

Prime Minister Trudeau’s short trip no doubt was busy squeezing in meetings with Cuba’s political leaders, Canadian businesspeople and members of Cuba’s civil society. Moreover, there is a very good chance that he will get a private sit-down with Fidel Castro himself — a close confidante of his father’s. 

It is worth remembering that Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s 1976 visit to Cuba was controversial in both Ottawa and Washington, but it served to cement a cordial and productive bilateral relationship. Castro always spoke respectfully and kindly of Pierre Trudeau, regarded him as a wise statesman and saw him as a mentor of sorts. And one should also recall that Fidel Castro was an honorary pallbearer at Trudeau’s funeral in 2000.

Justin Trudeau will undoubtedly tend to a wide array of issues on the Canada-Cuba agenda: commercial interaction and investment, scientific, educational and cultural exchanges, hemispheric issues and Donald Trump’s recent election in the U.S. There is also certain to be a respectful and candid discussion on the thorny issue of human rights in Cuba.

But make no mistake, his trip to Cuba is all about ensuring that Canada’s longstanding “special relationship” with Cuba remains intact. (The visit will also burnish his credentials with those on the left who supported him in the 2015 federal election.) Indeed, the last thing that Ottawa wants — especially as countries all over the world make a mad dash to Havana to scout out possible economic opportunities — is to see Canada’s well-earned reputation in Cuba somehow devalued.

It is true that the expected invasion of U.S. travel-seekers could have real pocket-book implications for Canadian vacationers. With the increase in demand, one would anticipate higher prices and perhaps even fewer options for Canadian travel packages to Cuba. But this is minor in the larger scheme of things.

Everywhere I went in Cuba during a 2015 visit, I was quick to ask about the implications for Canada of a normalized U.S.-Cuba relationship. Where exactly would it leave Canadians? Would we eventually be frozen out of the Cuban marketplace by a deluge of deal-making Americans?

One knowledgeable Cuban worker in the tourism sector did say that the U.S.-Cuba entente was all about business and that there would be plenty of business to go around for the Canadians. Maybe. But I’m not so sure. We’ll just have to wait and see what Trump does now.

Still, I was constantly reassured by grateful Cubans that Canadian loyalty and unwavering political support over the decades (recall that Canada and Mexico were the only two countries in the Americas not to sever diplomatic relations with Cuba in the early 1960s) would not be soon forgotten. That Cubans would always have a soft spot in their hearts for Canadians no matter what happens in the U.S.-Cuba relationship.

Trudeau’s visit, then, is symbolically important, but it also has a clear commercial motive. In short, he is looking to make sure that Canadian economic interests in Cuba are not callously pushed out and rudely replaced by our American friends. Officialdom in Ottawa should still be mindful, though, that loyalty to Canada, particularly over the longer term, could fall victim to the exigencies of the almighty U.S. dollar.

With U.S. President Barack Obama’s legacy of normalizing relations between the United States and Cuba potentially in jeopardy (though I wouldn’t bet the farm on it) by an incoming Trump Administration, this is an opportune time for Mr. Trudeau to visit Havana. One of the first things that he should do is to reaffirm for the Cubans Canada’s firm commitment to remain engaged in Cuba for the long haul. This is his big chance to send out the correct signals to the current (and future) Cuban political leadership — namely, that Canadians can be counted on as a reliable friend and constructive partner.

Peter McKenna is professor and chair of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.