What’s an ounce of peacekeeping prevention worth?
As Canada’s National Peacekeepers’ Day approached on Aug. 9, there was little to celebrate about the future of the effort with the news that military commitments to United Nations missions would be drawn down to barely a handful of personnel in the coming year.
In an Aug. 9 joint statement, the ministers of veterans affairs, public safety, national defence, and foreign affairs recognized the “courage, service, and sacrifice of Canadian peacekeepers who have helped bring hope, stability, and security to communities around the world.”
“For more than 70 years, peacekeeping has reflected Canada’s enduring commitment to helping those affected by conflict and crisis,” the statement continued, highlighting that the day marks the date in 1974 when nine Canadian peacekeepers were killed after their supply aircraft was shot down in Syria.
“Their legacy reminds us that peace is never guaranteed. It is built through courage, perseverance, and a steadfast commitment to human dignity and human rights,” the ministers said.
But that commitment appears to be in question based on the plans announced on July 17 to reduce Canada’s UN peacekeeping presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Cyprus to four people by mid-2027.
As Royal Military College professor Walter Dorn told The Hill Times’ Neil Moss, that’s a “shameful” decision.
“The government decision ignores the needs of those war-torn nations and local populations. Canada ignores global security to its peril. Insecurity in far-away places can affect us, just like Afghanistan did in 2001,” he said.
If the plan—rationalized by the feds as “rebalancing its global operational commitments to better align resources with evolving defence priorities in an increasingly complex security environment”—continues apace, Canada would be the lowest contributor among G7 countries to UN peacekeeping next year, matching the four troops that Japan sends, based on April figures.
Canada’s continued involvement in UN missions hasn’t been without controversy, with this country’s presence in Mali from 2018 to 2019 opposed by the Conservatives who frequently noted “there’s no peace to keep.”
But one has to question how a mixture of shifting the military’s priorities and budget cuts that affect Canada’s diplomatic presence as well as its international aid allocation will improve the turbulent geopolitical situation. The 2025 budget pledged to cut Canada’s foreign aid contribution by $2.7-billion over four years.
As former NDP MP Lindsay Mathyssen highlighted in a recent Hill Times op-ed, Canada’s previous success as a middle power—which Prime Minister Mark Carney has famously highlighted as the ideal—came from “our ability to build coalitions, broker peace, defend international law, and the trust of countries that viewed us as honest partners rather than geopolitical rivals.” And that reputation, she wrote, has been symbolized by the UN blue peacekeeping beret.
Obviously, Canada cannot be all things to all people, and that’s just as true in times of peace as it is during periods of upheaval. But the maxim that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure exists for a reason.
The Hill Times