OTTAWA 鈥� It was their job interview for the position of international statesman.
For the three federal leaders, Monday鈥檚 foreign policy debate exposed some sharp differences on how they鈥檇 shepherd sa国际传媒 through a turbulent world.
Stephen Harper found himself under frequent attack, fending off the narrative that he鈥檇 made sa国际传媒 a meaner, less respected global citizen in his near decade in power.
It鈥檚 been a common claim that critics of the Conservative leader鈥檚 foreign policy make 鈥攖hat his government is less kind to refugees, that it is a climate-change laggard, that it sees military might as paramount to diplomatic nuance.
So it was no surprise it was the main line of attack from Harper鈥檚 two rivals, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, in the first-ever leaders鈥� debate to focus on foreign policy.
But the opposition leaders also had to show how, exactly, they would do things differently.
Trudeau called for a return to the multilateral engagement that dominated sa国际传媒鈥檚 foreign policy before the Conservative leader won power in 2006. For him, that means more peacekeeping, and asserting sa国际传媒鈥檚 voice in international diplomacy so it can speak with more authority with allies against 鈥渂ullies鈥� such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He also launched a passionate offensive on why sa国际传媒 needs to be more welcoming of refugees, evoking the 19th century Irish potato famine.
Harper largely stood his ground at Toronto鈥檚 Roy Thomson Hall, saying that sa国际传媒 wants to welcome more refugees, and will; but the government has to be mindful of terrorists hiding among them in a world beset by Islamic militants.
Despite the attacks, Harper had a powerful ace up his sleeve 鈥� the fact he is already an international statesman. Harper simply described his own forays to refugee camps in northern Iraq and Jordan, saying he鈥檇 seen the suffering first hand, and been given the high-level security briefings that informed him of the hidden risks.
From the opening of the debate, it was Mulcair who found himself on the defensive.
On the fight against the Islamic militants, Mulcair was asked to justify his decision to end Canadian participation in the bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, and quickly bring home special forces trainers working in Iraq 鈥攎onths before the original commitment expires next March.
When exactly, the NDP leader was asked, would an NDP government use force?
鈥淲e understand that there will be times when we have to, either under the NATO charter or under our international obligations at the UN, to use force and we won鈥檛 shy away from that. But the real question here, is that the only thing that we can do?鈥�
For Trudeau and Mulcair, there was an occasional hint of nostalgia, a longing for a time when they say sa国际传媒 was considered perhaps kinder on the world stage.
Trudeau attacked Harper for not allowing more Syrian refugees into sa国际传媒, digging deep into history, to remind him how in 1847, 38,000 Irish arrivals flooded 鈥渢he shores of Toronto,鈥� then a city of 20,000, to help build the country of today. It was an image that Mulcair also evoked when he referenced his own descendants.
鈥渟a国际传媒 has always done more,鈥� said Trudeau. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about politics; it鈥檚 about being the country that we have always been. And not only are you reneging on our duty as Canadians, not only are you failing us, the entire world is looking at sa国际传媒 and saying, 鈥檞hat is going on鈥�?鈥�
Harper turned that longing for bygone eras back on his opponents, suggesting they are out of touch with a complex, dangerous world.
Harper said he鈥檇 consulted with his own officials, and with international institutions like the World Bank and approved the arrival of 10,000 additional refugees 鈥� the same number as the U.S., a country 10 times sa国际传媒鈥檚 size.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e responding in a way that is responsible and also generous. And that鈥檚 the responsibility of the government of sa国际传媒 not to chase headlines. It鈥檚 to make sure we act in a way that we can actually fulfil.鈥�
Harper also fended off attacks on his environment policy. Trudeau said Harper made sa国际传媒 a 鈥渓aggard鈥� on the world stage. But the prime minister maintained that greenhouse gas emissions had gone down on his watch, and that Trudeau鈥檚 Liberal predecessors failed to act on the Kyoto Protocol before that.
On trade, Mulcair accused Harper of compromising the interests of the auto and agricultural sectors in the current 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. But Harper fired back, saying 鈥渉aving privileged trade access to the economies of the world鈥� was crucial to sa国际传媒鈥檚 future economic success.
Said Harper: 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get those deals by coming up with a million reasons why you鈥檙e against them before you even get to the table.鈥�
