Ottawa downgrades long-delayed Africa policy despite criticism

For at least a year, the Liberals have promised an Africa strategy that would outline Canada's relationship with dozens of countries.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has downgraded its long-delayed plan for relations with Africa from a strategy to a framework, saying this better reflects the original intent of the policy – despite criticism the Liberals are not taking the region seriously.

For at least a year, the Liberals have promised an Africa strategy that would outline Canada’s relationship with dozens of countries and seize on opportunities to engage with a new intercontinental trade bloc.

Rob Oliphant, the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, said in interviews last summer and fall that he was working on an “emerging Africa strategy” and “a strategy document for our engagement diplomatically.”

Yet in an interview with The Canadian Press earlier this month, Joly said the plan is not a full-blown strategy.

“Regarding the Africa strategy, well, this is a term that was used by my colleague, Rob Oliphant. I would say it’s an Africa framework,” Joly said in a phone interview from Nairobi, Kenya.

“The goal is to make sure that we answer the call that many of the African countries are making, to have access to more of Canada.”

In an interview, Oliphant said that Joly had asked him in a mandate letter sometime after fall 2021 “to develop a strategy for Africa, and particularly for our foreign policy when it comes to Africa.”

The idea was to assess Canada’s diplomatic presence across the continent, what groups it should participate in and what goals it should present to African leaders. This would fill a gap, since Canada’s trade and aid policies were clearer than its foreign-policy aims.