Canada's Move Towards Soft Power Essay examples

During the post-war, Canada has proven its importance internationally by becoming one of the founding members of the United Nations and the drafting of one of the most important documents in today’s society. In conclusion, the UN has proved to influence Canadian policies and it international involvement. Together as a nation, one must learn to defend, support and respect the declarations that were put in place for the benefit of the country as a

Now that you are up to date with currents events I will briefly touch on some strong point of the Canadian democratic system. Citizens in Canada indirectly hold power in a free electoral system and are given better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than other systems of government. The freedom of speech, freedom of political expression, and the freedom of the media allow citizens to vote in favour of their own interest. Democracy in Canada is rooted on the grounds of equal rights; this gives people equality before the law, human rights, free and fair elections and so on. In comparison to the Third World, power is in the hands of the “Big Men”, the police and army are the ones who hold control not the people and where corruption is a norm, Canada may look like a utopia. Another strong point in the Canadian political system is everyone no matter race or sex has the right to vote as long as you are a Canadian citizen over the age of eighteen. Until the 60s/70s parties would make up electoral boundaries this was done to increase the number of votes in that location this is called gerrymander, this was unfair because certain parties had an advantage over others. However, now under the Electoral Boundaries Commissions this problem does not occur and no party has the upper hand over another. Interestingly the

Also, Canada is pressures on the political field by the United States. As a superpower United States is pressuring Canada to support them. During the Cold War Americans moved the nuclear missiles into Canada, even though the majority of Canadians were against it. Canada sends forces to Afghanistan to finish the

Canada, was once a respected peacekeeper now a disgrace to its past. Canada was once the primary contributor to the United Nations for peacekeeping. Now Canada is not even close to being regarded as a contributor. Even the people in Canada do not think that Canada has any involvement in the peacekeeping business. Many people looked at Canada as a symbol of peace which many still do, but most do not know that Canada has fled from its old ways and now is just an image of the past. Canada is no longer presented as a peacekeeping country. Therefore Canada is not the peace keeping country it used to be because of its lack of support to the United Nations, Canada’s opinion on its duty as a peacekeeper, and the loss of influence as a peacekeeper.

Canadians pride themselves on being a “peacekeeping country” and many believe that peacekeeping represents a defining aspect of Canadian identity because it reflects fundamental values, beliefs and interests. Canada has been a leader in peace operations since its development that spearheaded by a Canadian. In fact, Canada’s role as peacekeeper remains the main focus of the Canadian military after its invention around 60 years ago, originally started by a Canadian. Their efforts have gained an international reputation for Canada as a significant contributor to international peace and stability. While Canada has an exemplary history in UN peacekeeping, the current extent of its contribution, both in terms of peacekeeping personnel and percentage of funds to peacekeeping missions, are on a clear decline. The belief that Canada is a peacekeeping country is misguided because recent Canadian commitment shows a sharp decline in Canadian participation in UN peacekeeping. Surprisingly, as of March 2007, Canada ranked 59th out of 114 countries in terms of military and police contributions to UN operations. Despite Canadian declined involvement in peacekeeping during the last decade, it still remains a valuable and important mission that greatly deserves Canadian resources including monetary support, resources and personnel.

Canada has been actively involved with the United Nations since its creation in 1945. Since then, Canadian peacekeepers have participated in almost every single peacekeeping mission. The role of Canadian peacekeeping was to bring peace and stability between countries. However, Canada’s role is slowly starting to diminish because of its failure to prevent conflict in peacekeeping missions. Examples of this instance include the mass genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Somalia and Yugoslavian crisis.

Its often said that because of the events of the Second World War that Canada grew as a country. Even noted in the London Daily Telegraph when they said “no country has grown in international stature so swiftly and markedly as Canada has done... hers has often been a lonely voice of reason,”12. This statement defines Canada's actions in its development as a middle power – the voice of reason in many international affairs. This is true especially of these two crises that Canada dealt

Culture can be defined as the behaviours and belief characteristics of a particular social, ethnic,

Canada should support the United Nations, because the it uphold Canada’s national interests. For instance, the UN engages in peacemaking activities which are aimed at assisting nations who have emerged out of conflict, reducing the risk of the country returning back to conflict and providing them with peace and development. Additionally, Canada similar to the UN works to advance international peace and security through the pursuit of disarmament of nuclear weapons of mass distraction and the regulations of arms. Furthermore, like the Canadian Charter of RIghts and Freedoms, the UN aims to prevent or responds to serious violations of human rights.

At the end of the Great War, Canada plunged into economic darkness; the once-powerful war industry was no longer needed and factories shut down all over the country, causing unemployment for civilians and veterans alike to skyrocket. This reflected on the military of Canada; vehicles that were destroyed were not replaced; the number of permanent forces and militia barely grew. Canada’s military saw a period of inactivity that would even cause land, sea and air components merged as a singular entity due to the Great Depression’s effect on the military budget. However, the peace was not to last. As Adolf Hitler’s Germany appeared and showed the world its intentions, nations gathered and Canada committed an important act demonstrating its independence as a nation; Canada declared war. Viewed for a long time as a British colony even after Confederation, Canada took a stand against a virtually universally-recognized evil alongside the major powers of the world at the time. Canada’s participation in conflicts in many different operations throughout WWII demonstrated its military effectiveness, but its important role in the D-Day landings defined Canada’s military competency through the crucial Operation Overlord, dubbed by some as the beginning of the end of the Second World War, in Normandy. Canada’s role in Operation Overlord in Normandy solidified the military structure that is our modern military and sculpted the image of an independent nation through Canada’s military

After the war canada had proved themselves to be a very strong and independent country, other countries were scared of what canada's military was capable of. Before the war canada was seen as a quiet and harmless country, but little did they know that when they a passionate about fighting for there country they can be very big and powerful.(Rajkumar 2012) Now that Canada was seen as an independent country and wasn't apart of britain anymore people started to seek allies with canada, this was crucial in war time. (Patel 2012,par 2) Other countries also started to recognize canada's accomplishments in the war that proved to the others that we weren't messing around anymore, if we wanted something we were gonna come and take what we wanted and no one was stopping

The Cold War was a significant time for the United States and the Soviet Union, while the rest of the world watched intently. Although no actual war took place, both of these powerful countries did their best to promote their political and ideological ideas while trying to gain some ground in the seemingly never ending arms race. This war was driven by both fear and the strive to become the strongest and most powerful country. During the time of the Cold War, the United States proved to be a strong influence over Canada. Given its location, it was obvious as to which side Canada was on. While Canada believed in the same ideologies as the US, this nation was still reluctant to fully emerge themselves into the hysteria that had been emerging in the US. However, even though Canada had just received world recognition for its contribution during the Second World War, this large yet acutely populated country had much still to prove. During this time, Canada just recently became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But while Canada was making huge steps in their peacekeeping and military growth, there were still rumours of espionage circling the country.

Canada is known around the world as a peace keeping country, but has it always been that way? During the world wars, Canada made a number of unethical decisions in war that effected Canadians. Firstly, Canada made unethical decisions during World War One, by declaring war, using conscription and passing the War Measures Act. Canada also made unethical decisions during World War Two, like declaring war for a second time, having Japanese internment camps and participating in the disaster at Dieppe. Canada making unethical decisions in war shows both continuity and significant.

Initially, Canada would have preferred to keep itself away from other countries’ affairs. Canadians still remembered the horrors of WWI and did not want to risk their lives for the sake of other nations. Things took a turn later on however, on September 10th, 1939, Canada officially declared war on Germany under the decision of the Canadian Parliament. Throughout the war, Canada had a great amount of contributions - both on the battlefield and homefront, and it is an undeniable fact that the battles would have turned out differently without Canada’s help and support.

As the 20th century comes to an end, Canada is a transcontinental nation whose interests and representatives span the face of the globe and extend into every sphere of human behaviour. However this was not always the case. When the four colonies of British North America united to create Canada on July 1, 1867, the new country's future was by no means secure. Canada was a small country, with unsettled borders, vast empty spaces, and a large powerful neighbour, the United States. Confronting these challenges was difficult for the young country. Though Canada was independent in domestic matters, Britain retained control over its foreign policy. Over the next fifty or so years, Canada's leaders and its