Canada drags heels on joining Dubai Expo
OTTAWA • Out of step with more than 170 countries, including its major allies, Canada is continuing to stall on a decision about whether to participate in the World Expo in 2020.
The United Arab Emirates, which will host the fair in Dubai from October 2020 until April 2021 — the first such event in the Middle East — is publicly advocating Canada’s participation, as is a consortium of Canadian private-sector companies.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and other like-minded countries are already in the fold. “Final determinations about Canadian participation at World Expo 2020 will be made in due course,” Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Allison Lewis said.
If Canada skips Dubai 2020, it won’t be the first time it decided not to set up shop at a World Expo. There was a Canadian pavilion at the 2010 Expo in Shanghai, China — and then-governor general Michaëlle Jean gave a speech there on Canada Day. But Canada took a pass on the subsequent 2015 Expo in Milan, Italy, ostensibly due to budget constraints.
There is confusion, though, about why the Liberal government doesn’t seem interested, said a source familiar with the event planning, given it is a descendent of Montreal’s Expo 67, one of the highest-profile events in Canadian history. Canada also hosted the World Expo in 1986 in Vancouver.
The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, also said it would make sense since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims to prioritize trade diversification and international co-operation. The event’s themes — mobility, sustainability and employment — are in line with Canadian government, too, the source said.
The then-Conservative government had already pulled its membership from the 170-country organization that governs World Expos back in 2012. In 2015, the Canadian foreign affairs department told media that it was saving taxpayer dollars by not going to Milan, since it can cost up to $50 million to participate.
In 2016 there was a drive to have Toronto bid to host the 2025 World Expo. Yet despite polls indicating a majority of Canadians liked the idea, city council voted it down after the federal government declined to support it and consultants estimated that it would cost almost $2 billion. It will happen in Japan, Russia or Azerbaijan instead.
The Dubai Expo would offer “huge opportunities for trade and development,” said Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and director general of the bureau that is organizing the Expo. “We’re preparing for a celebration of innovation and collaboration, and that will bring countries, we hope including Canada, together to explore how we can create a better future together.”