U.N. vote deals Trudeau embarrassing defeat on world stage – By Ryan Heath and Lauren Gardner (Politico) / June 17 2020
It was not even close as Norway and Ireland beat out Canada for nonpermanent seats at the Security Council table.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bid to get Canada back on the United Nations Security Council was dashed Wednesday, dealing the staunch defender of global institutions a decisive and embarrassing loss.
India, Mexico, Norway and Ireland won temporary seats on the United Nations Security Council — the organization’s most powerful forum — for 2021-2022. The Security Council election, which takes place in regional brackets, saw Canada suffer its second loss in as many attempts, beaten in the first round of voting by much smaller Norway and Ireland.
Canada will now likely have to wait until the 2030s to win a seat at the Security Council table — a three-decade absence. Of the Security Council’s 15 members, five are permanent — belonging to China, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and France — while 10 seats rotate every two years based on elections like that conducted Wednesday.
Despite being a founding U.N. member and part of the G-7 and G-20, Canada’s size and history once again counted for little: the government of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper was defeated by Portugal in 2010, even as the former colonial power was in the midst of the humiliating EU bailout.
Canada had touted its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations; the Francophonie, an international organization of French-speaking countries; and the Organization of American States, as well as its status as an Arctic nation. Canada’s diversity meant it could be a voice for many at the U.N., the country’s ambassador to the U.N., Marc-André Blanchard, told POLITICO on Monday.
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