"Now, Canada was amongst the first to hear the wake-up call, leading us to fundamentally shift our strategic posture. Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumptions that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security, that assumption is no longer valid. And our new approach rests on what Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland, has termed value-based realism."
"Or, to put it another way, we aim to be both principled and pragmatic. Principled in our commitment to fundamental values, sovereignty, territorial integrity, the prohibition of the use of force except when consistent with the UN Charter and respect for human rights. And pragmatic in recognizing that progress is often incremental, that interests diverge, that not every partner will share all of our values."
"So we're engaging broadly, strategically, with open eyes. We actively take on the world as it is, not wait around for a world we wish to be. We are calibrating our relationships so their depth reflects our values, and we're prioritizing broad engagement to maximize our influence, given the fluidity of the world at the moment, the risks that this poses and the stakes for what comes next."
Declining norms of American exceptionalism have prompted proposals for alliances of middle powers that uphold Western values while confronting superpowers that eschew limits. Canada has recalibrated its strategic posture toward value-based realism, combining principled commitments to sovereignty, territorial integrity, UN Charter constraints on force, and human rights with pragmatic recognition that progress is incremental and interests diverge. The approach emphasizes broad, strategic engagement, calibrating the depth of relationships to reflect shared values, prioritizing collective middle-power action to maximize influence, and relying on both the strength of values and the value of strength to manage current global risks.
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