Maple turn: Canada imposes 70 rounds of sanctions against Russia

Canada has conducted more than 70 rounds of sanctions against Russia, the Russian Embassy in Ottawa told Izvestia. More than 700 companies and structures are on blacklists, and almost 2,000 people are under personal restrictions, the embassy said. Moscow emphasizes that bilateral relations are "at their lowest point". Nevertheless, the Russian Federation is ready for dialog. At the same time, Canada may change its policy towards Russia under Donald Trump, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already spoken out in favor of a potential dialog with Moscow.

Canada's anti-Russian policy

As of today, "more than 70 rounds of restrictions have been imposed against Russian individuals and legal entities," the Russian Embassy in Canada told Izvestia.

- More than 700 Russian companies and structures are on the sanctions lists, and almost 2,000 people are under personal restrictions. All existing licenses for exports to Russia and the issuance of new ones have been suspended. Restrictions have been imposed on the supply of a wide range of commodities. Most-favored-nation treatment has been unilaterally abolished, which entails the imposition of 35 percent duties on our potential exporters. Canadian airspace and waters are closed for Russian-related airplanes and sea vessels," the Russian diplomatic mission noted.

At the same time, it was the cabinet of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that was the first among Western leaders in June 2022 to legalize the confiscation of private assets of Russian sub-sanctioned individuals in favor of the Kiev regime.

On June 10, 2023, such a procedure was launched with regard to the An-124 Ruslan aircraft detained at Toronto airport. It is worth recalling that this aircraft flew to Canada with humanitarian cargo - COVID tests, which the Canadian side needed very badly at that time. A few hours after the plane landed, Ottawa closed the airspace for Moscow, and the ship was never released. It has been standing at the airport for more than 2.5 years. Earlier in an interview with Izvestia, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov said that Volga-Dnepr, the company that owns the plane, has nothing to do with the Russian government, noting that Moscow continues to make efforts to return the aircraft.

In addition, Canada is also trying to encroach on Russian sovereign assets. According to Russian diplomats, in October 2023, "an odious bill was introduced in the House of Commons with the aim of legalizing the seizure of sovereign assets - both ours and, in the future, those of other 'undesirable' states". At the same time, it bypasses the provisions of international and national law that guarantee immunity from the jurisdiction of foreign courts.

Thus, the relations between Russia and Canada are now, in fact, "at their lowest point," the Russian embassy noted.

- Since 2015, the ruling liberals have been on a course to collapse Russian-Canadian economic ties. The unwinding of the sanctions flywheel reached a climax with the start of Russia's SWO in Ukraine. Official Ottawa initiated a total blocking of trade and economic cooperation," it noted.

Tension in relations between the two countries is also in the issue of the trial of Nazi criminals settled in Canada. This topic actively began to gain momentum after the scandal caused by the honoring of Ukrainian Nazi Yaroslav Gunko in the Canadian Parliament on September 22, 2023, which was attended by Vladimir Zelensky and Justin Trudeau. Russia sent a request for the extradition of the war criminal, to which the Canadian side responded with a refusal.

Moreover, Ottawa did not initiate any criminal proceedings against him. Recently, the Canadian government also opposed the publication of the names of other Nazis settled in the country due to concerns that this could allegedly have a negative impact on Ukraine in the current conflict. According to information in the media, there are about 900 such persons in Canada.

Nevertheless, Moscow remains open for dialog with Ottawa.

- In the context of such denounced Russophobia on the part of Ottawa, it is difficult to talk about any official contacts at any level at the current stage. However, we are not closing the door to dialog," the Russian Embassy in Canada said.

It should be noted that before 2014 there were many positive moments in Russian-Canadian relations. In particular, there was active cooperation on the development of the Arctic, institutions for indigenous peoples of the Far North were created.

Prospects for Russian-Canadian relations

However, the rhetoric of the extremely anti-Russian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to be undergoing some changes. After German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's first call to Russian President Vladimir Putin in two years, Trudeau unexpectedly told many that some sort of engagement with Russia should be maintained despite the differences.

- Trump's election as president could affect Canada's position on the Ukraine conflict, but much here will depend on how radically different the new U.S. administration's view of the crisis will be. In any case, it is much more difficult for the current government of Justin Trudeau or the Conservatives, who are expected to win the parliamentary elections in 2025, to change both the rhetoric and the actual approach to the Ukrainian conflict than it is for European governments because of the presence of a very large and well-organized Ukrainian diaspora in Canada," Dmitry Volodin, a leading researcher at ISKRAN, told Izvestia.

At the same time, Canada has been actively helping Kiev since the very beginning of the SWO, both financially and militarily. In addition, we should not forget that the second most important person in the Trudeau government is Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has Ukrainian roots.

- Canadians of Ukrainian descent have usually represented an important part of the Conservative electorate, and the majority of Canadian Ukrainians live in the west of the country - in the traditional stronghold of the Conservative Party, - said Dmitry Volodin.

If the US president-elect really changes Washington's approach to the Ukrainian crisis and promotes the launch of a peaceful settlement, the current Canadian authorities will probably have to change their policy. This is due to the country's very heavy dependence on the US in many areas, mostly economic. As of 2022, the number of Canadians living in the U.S. passed 800,000. The level of bilateral trade is estimated at $909 billion, making Washington the first trading partner of Ottawa by a wide margin. The U.S. is a very large market for Canadian goods and services, and exports from Canada outweigh imports. As of 2022, Canada's foreign economic activity is 68% tied to the United States.

Therefore, it can be assumed that Ottawa is interested in maintaining trade interaction with the United States and clearly does not want to lose such a partner or damage relations with it in any way.

On the other hand, one should not be completely sure of a change in Canada's political course upon Trump's return to the White House. First, Trudeau's rhetoric has not changed much even during the brief warming of U.S.-Russian relations on the backdrop of the summit in Finland. Ottawa has pursued a consistent anti-Russian course since 2014, namely since Crimea's reunification with Russia. And after the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July 2018, the Canadian prime minister openly stated that his country would not change its attitude toward Russia and its leader in any way: "Canada has made it clear that it condemns Vladimir Putin and Russia."

In addition, Ottawa does not have good memories of the Trump presidency, which abolished the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and replaced it in 2018 with a new one.

- Trump pulled off an action not the most facetious for Ottawa. Instead of NAFTA they signed the USMCA, where Ottawa was really squeezed. It was forced to give in a lot. There were preferences for America and its goods, as well as some quotas for Canadian products. Trump believed that NAFTA was not only benefiting Mexico, but also Canada. The problem there is also that the new treaty requires an audit every three years. But Canada is lucky that Trump's powers are over. The Democrats who came to power did not want to do anything like that, especially since Canada actively supported Ukraine," Vladimir Vasiliev, a senior researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained to Izvestia.

Nevertheless, it is not true to say that Canada pursued an independent policy toward Russia during the Trump administration. Washington under Trump, despite the already mentioned summit in Helsinki, generally adhered to an anti-Russian policy. This is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that his administration imposed a record (if we talk about the pre-SWO period) number of sanctions against Moscow. Well, and most importantly, Trump himself may continue to support Kiev and recant some of his words during the election campaign.