Canada Pushes 'Middle Powers' Strategy at UN as Anand Prepares Key Address

Canada is promoting its "middle power strategy" at this year's United Nations General Assembly, with Foreign Minister Anita Anand saying the approach is gaining traction among like-minded countries.

Speaking in an interview as the international community's largest annual gathering began, Anand said the assembly is a pivotal moment because so many nations come together to discuss their foreign policies. She said many middle powers are looking to Canada for leadership in that conversation.

Her remarks came a day after Canada co-launched a new group advocating for UN-style international cooperation, called "Partners for Multilateralism," on the sidelines of the assembly.

Canada is a founding member of the 81-year-old United Nations and has long contributed to its humanitarian work and decision-making, winning election to the Security Council six times over the decades. This year, however, its international profile has shifted markedly.

Prime Minister Mark Carney drew attention in January at the World Economic Forum, warning that rising geopolitics had created a rupture in the world order and arguing that middle powers must act together. Facing tariffs and annexation talk from U.S. President Donald Trump, Carney allowed trade talks with Washington to collapse last month rather than accept terms he deemed unacceptable.

A former central bank chief, Carney has set a goal of doubling non-U.S. trade within a decade. He convened hundreds of international investment executives at a Canadian investment summit last week and is seeking free-trade deals with India, among others, by year's end, while deepening ties with the European Union.

Anand said Canada's objectives — spanning trade, transatlantic security, Arctic defence and support for Ukraine in Russia's four-year-old war — are not new, but are being brought into singular focus under the middle power strategy. She described the country's overall foreign policy as "principled pragmatism."

Anand is scheduled to deliver Canada's main speech to the assembly on Saturday, for scheduling reasons. She said the message will centre on implementing the middle power strategy.

Trump did not mention Canada in his address on Tuesday, instead highlighting U.S. economic, military and technological strength and celebrating international investment in what he called the hottest country in the world.