President Obama claims, as Bill Kristol noted in his editorial in the latest issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD, that no country in the world has expressed opposition to his deal with Iran, with the exception of Israel. But that’s not accurate. Canada, the United States’ biggest trading partner—and, traditionally, its closest ally—has made it clear it wants no part of an agreement normalizing relations between Iran and the West.
When details of the agreement were released last month, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Rob Nicholson, had this to say:
We will examine this deal further before taking any specific Canadian action.
That last sentence is not the typical contentless politician-speak; it contains real repercussions. Canada will not be lifting its sanctions against Iran—in stark contrast to the United States and Europe if the deal takes effect.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently called a federal election, and a group of secular Muslims hopes to make Canadian policy on Iran an issue in the race. Muslims Facing Tomorrow is collecting signatures on an online petition that calls “on all the elected members in House of Commons in Ottawa, whatever their party, to remain steadfast in opposing the nuclear-deal with Iran, to keep the Canadian Embassy in Tehran closed, and to maintain economic sanctions against this totalitarian theocracy. It is Canada’s time to take the lead!”
In fact, some might argue that Canada long ago took the lead on principled opposition to the Islamic Republic. Our northern neighbor broke diplomatic relations with Iran, and closed its embassy there, in 2012, for various reasons, summed up in then-foreign-minister John Baird’s statement, “Canada views the Government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today.”
