Security Council seat will give Canada ‘impact,’ Trudeau says

PM hopeful as voting starts today at UN

WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE MORE ENGAGED ON THE WORLD STAGE.

OTTAWA • Canada’s fouryear campaign for a United Nations Security Council seat will reach its peak Wednesday as voting begins at UN headquarters in New York.

Starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, countries will begin to cast their ballots, with Canada vying against Ireland and Norway for two seats on the 15-member council.

In his daily news conference Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was hopeful Canada would be successful after the lengthy campaign. But he said the seat isn’t a prize, it’s a tool Canada can use to improve the world.

“Getting a seat on the UN Security Council itself is not an end to itself, it’s a means to an end. It is a way for Canada to continue to be influential and have an impact,” he said.

He said Canada has shown it is prepared to step up and take a leading role in multilateral institutions.

“We are more engaged and we will continue to be more engaged on the world stage.”

If Canada succeeds it will be on the council for two years, starting in January.

Ordinarily a vote for the security council seat can finish in a single day, with all the UN ambassadors in the general assembly room, but due to COVID-19 the ambassadors will be filing through in shifts to cast secret ballots.

To win a seat, a country has to get two thirds support, approximately 130 votes, and if two countries don’t get that level then the vote goes to a second or potentially third ballot.

Normally, those subsequent ballots would all happen within a few hours of each other, but with the COVID-19 voting restrictions, it could take days for the election to play out.

Canada has had a seat on the council six times since the UN’s inception, but it has not held a seat since a twoyear term ended in 2000. An attempt to gain a seat in 2010 failed, as Canada lost out to Germany and Portugal.

After months of calls to dozens of world leaders, Trudeau ended the pitch on Tuesday with more calls to the leaders of India, Pakistan, Spain, Ethiopia, Angola and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He was set to have a virtual meeting with UN ambassadors from around the world late Tuesday night to mark the end of the campaign. Canada has spent about $2 million on the bid and has also promised to increase foreign aid and committed to peacekeeping operations.

Trudeau said Tuesday the pandemic has made it clear that multilateral institutions are more important than ever.

“One of the things we have seen through this pandemic is just how interconnected and interdependent the world is,” he said. “Now is the time for us to reflect on our multilateral institutions and how they can be improved given this crisis.”

Yves Fortier, who was Canada’s ambassador to the UN between 1988 and 1992, managed a successful, first-ballot victory for a Security Council seat then.

He said the final weeks of a campaign are about connecting with as many other ambassadors as possible.

“There was a lot of activity on the ground going from mission to mission, literally ringing the doorbell,” he said.

Fortier said since he was a new arrival during the campaign he dropped by other ambassadors’ homes and residences to introduce himself and always took the opportunity to encourage them to support Canada.

Fortier said Canada’s current ambassador, MarcAndré Blanchard, will have to work all of his relationships over the next few days to secure Canada’s seat.

“There is a lot riding on the ambassador and the relationships he has established.”

He said Blanchard’s background, which included time as a Liberal party organizer, makes him ideal to try to whip votes by phone in the push across the finish line.

“I can’t think of anyone better suited to do this.”

Fortier said as important as it is for the ambassador to have good relationships, the prime minister also has to be connected and engaged in the bid.

“You need the support at the highest level, you need the support for your prime minister.”

Canada’s defeat in 2010 came as a surprise after a close first ballot. Then Portugal pulled ahead on subsequent ballots and Canada eventually withdrew.

Fortier said he is hopeful this time will be different.

“My feeling is that Canada has a very good chance to make up for that shameful defeat.”