Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates at the Global Methane Pledge event during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 2, 2021.KEVIN LAMARQUE/Reuters
In May, the burgeoning diplomatic quarter of Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa got a major new addition, as the Stars and Stripes were raised over the first U.S. embassy to the Pacific Island nation. That same month, the South American nation of Guyana inaugurated its own new embassy in Qatar, with Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali flying to Doha to cut the ribbon.
Amid multiple international crises and fears of a new Cold War, countries around the world are on an embassy-building spree, opening up new missions and expanding their diplomatic presence at a clip rarely seen before. In the past decade alone, more than a thousand new embassies have been opened globally, according to research by the Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures.
Canada has played a part in this: In 2023, Ottawa opened new embassies in Armenia and Fiji, a consulate in Milan, and a new permanent mission to the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “Diplomats are on the front lines of our work around the world,” Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in October. “They are our eyes and ears on the ground. Their work is one key to our collective peace and security.”
Top 10 countries by diplomatic
representation
Number of embassies and consulates by region
Americas
Europe
Middle East
Africa
Asia Pacific
Consulates
Embassies
CHINA (Total: 271)
28
16
39
27
14
7
53
7
40
40
JAPAN (267)
35
25
54
13
14
5
54
0
38
29
FRANCE (255)
25
21
44
24
13
10
50
22
30
16
U.S. (231)
27
23
46
16
11
3
50
3
37
15
BRITAIN (230)
30
17
43
19
14
6
42
2
37
20
GERMANY (210)
24
15
43
22
12
5
43
3
29
14
ITALY (204)
20
25
44
25
14
6
29
4
22
15
BRAZIL (187)
31
34
35
9
14
1
32
1
23
7
INDIA (184)
19
8
34
8
14
3
42
5
31
20
CANADA (178)
20
29
24
19
9
4
21
14
22
16
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Top 10 countries by diplomatic
representation
Number of embassies and consulates by region
Americas
Europe
Middle East
Africa
Asia Pacific
Consulates
Embassies
CHINA (Total: 271)
28
16
39
27
14
7
53
7
40
40
JAPAN (267)
35
25
54
13
14
5
54
0
38
29
FRANCE (255)
25
21
44
24
13
10
50
22
30
16
U.S. (231)
27
23
46
16
11
3
50
3
37
15
BRITAIN (230)
30
17
43
19
14
6
42
2
37
20
GERMANY (210)
24
15
43
22
12
5
43
3
29
14
ITALY (204)
20
25
44
25
14
6
29
4
22
15
BRAZIL (187)
31
34
35
9
14
1
32
1
23
7
INDIA (184)
19
8
34
8
14
3
42
5
31
20
CANADA (178)
20
24
29
19
9
4
21
14
22
16
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Top 10 countries by diplomatic representation
Number of embassies and consulates by region
Americas
Europe
Middle East
Africa
Asia Pacific
Embassies
Consulates
6. GERMANY (210)
1. CHINA (Total: 271)
24
15
43
22
12
5
43
3
29
14
28
16
39
27
14
7
53
7
40
40
7. ITALY (204)
2. JAPAN (267)
20
25
44
25
14
6
29
4
22
15
35
25
54
13
14
5
54
0
38
29
8. BRAZIL (187)
3. FRANCE (255)
31
34
35
9
14
1
32
1
23
7
25
21
44
24
13
10
50
22
30
16
9. INDIA (184)
4. U.S. (231)
19
8
34
8
14
3
42
5
31
20
27
23
46
16
11
3
50
3
37
15
10. CANADA (178)
5. BRITAIN (230)
20
24
29
19
9
4
21
14
22
16
30
17
43
19
14
6
42
2
37
20
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Note: Tally of embassies and consulates does not include permanent representative offices (to the United Nations etc.) or trade offices, and may differ from countries’ own published figures for missions abroad.
Even so, Canada is at risk of being left behind in the new global race for influence. Despite the recent embassy openings, research by The Globe and Mail found that in 2022 Canada had the least embassies and consulates of the world’s top 10 largest economies, at 178, almost a hundred behind world leader China and far behind allies the United States, Britain, France and Japan, all with more than 230 missions. (With new mission openings in 2023, the figure is now 182, but Canada is still last.) A long-standing staff shortage at Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has also led to hundreds of positions being left unfilled around the world, and long delays filling even important senior roles such as ambassadorships.
Ms. Joly’s speech came as she marked two years on the job, a much-needed period of stability after Canada ran through five foreign ministers in six years. She is currently overseeing a major overhaul of GAC, one that Canadian diplomats, analysts and politicians all agree is long overdue, as Canada grapples with “a shift in economic and political power away from its traditional allies and partners, a return of great power competition,” in the department’s own words.
“Historically Canada has played an outsized role in the shaping of the international rules-based order,” said Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. “We have been a staunch defender of multilateralism and international law and the United Nations, it was kind of a Canadian trademark. But it’s fair to say that in the last 20 years, that image has been in decline.”
Per capita, Canadians are well represented, with an overseas mission for every 218,000 people, better than any other top 10 economy. But this pales in comparison with smaller countries with strong diplomatic services: Both Ireland and Norway have populations of around five million and close to 100 embassies and consulates, or an overseas mission for every 50,000 citizens.
Since 2018, Ireland has opened 22 new missions overseas, including 10 embassies. It’s one of a number of smaller countries rapidly increasing their diplomatic footprint, particularly in Asia and Africa. Both Ireland and Canada are currently lobbying for a place on the UN Human Rights Council, and Dublin has taken an increasingly active role on human rights and press freedom at the European level. Beyond Europe, the United Arab Emirates, population 9.3 million, has opened 34 new embassies in the past decade, more than a third of which were in Africa.
Liesl Louw-Vaudran, senior adviser for the African Union at the International Crisis Group, said middle powers such as the UAE, Turkey and Brazil are “really making a huge push” on the continent. “They’re very visible, diplomatically and economically, and they’re getting a foot in the door with African governments, just like the Chinese have done.”
Africa is particularly important for fossil-fuel producers such as the UAE as traditional clients in the developed world try to move toward renewables, but beyond economic interests, many countries have recognized that Africa is a key source of votes at the United Nations, where 54 African countries are represented. “With the Ukraine war and Africa’s votes in the UN General Assembly, everyone is now vying for support from Africa,” Ms. Louw-Vaudran said. “Diplomatically, it’s become more and more important for middle powers like Turkey and the UAE to be present in Africa.”
As well as opening new embassies of their own, Middle Eastern countries have also become hosts to dozens of new diplomatic missions. “The rise of diplomatic exchanges with Arab Gulf states is kind of amazing,” said Collin Meisel, associate director of the Pardee Centre, pointing to data showing that in 2022, a third of all new overseas missions were opened in the Gulf.
Global tensions have also served to give smaller countries outsized importance politically. This can be particularly seen in the Pacific, where China, the U.S. and Australia are all tussling for influence among small but geographically strategic island countries, and even Canada is expanding its presence. Both Washington and Canberra were prompted to act by concerns over Beijing’s expansion into the Pacific, after years of lacklustre engagement enabled Chinese diplomats to steal a march on their Western counterparts in the region.
“Presence is important,” said Alejandro Reyes, scholar in residence at the Asia Society Hong Kong and former Canadian foreign service officer. “A great deal of the perception of your level of engagement is how present you are.”
This is something Canada has been trying to remedy with its Indo-Pacific Strategy, which has led to several key visits to the region, including by International Trade Minister Mary Ng and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But even the highest-level delegation cannot make up for a lack of sustained engagement, and diplomats play a key role in building contacts and knowledge to ensure that such trips are as successful as possible. Canada’s lacklustre investment in foreign affairs in the past decade has led to diminished global influence, Ms. Nadjibulla said.
“For a country like Canada, soft power matters, our reputation matters,” she said. “It’s notable that we have failed to secure a UN Security Council seat on two consecutive bids, under both the Harper government and now Prime Minister Trudeau.”
In December, the Senate published a report asking whether Canada’s foreign service was “fit for purpose.” One key area lawmakers highlighted was the lack of investment in GAC and problems recruiting foreign-service officers, noting that between 2009 and 2019, GAC “largely suspended its nationwide post-secondary entry-level foreign service recruitment,” something that is still being felt today. In 2022, out of around 2,500 rotational foreign-service and executive positions, 435, or 17 per cent, were unfilled.
“You have to be able to staff your missions abroad,” said Paul Meyer, a fellow in international security at Simon Fraser University and former Canadian ambassador to the UN. “We have suffered over the years quite a decline in foreign-service personnel posted abroad, the proportion at our missions has dramatically reduced compared to those back in Canada.”
Beyond boosting recruitment efforts at all levels, the Senate report recommended a shift away from using the standard public-service entrance exam to recruit foreign-service officers, which Julien Labrosse, a member of GAC’s Young Professionals Network, described to lawmakers as “essentially a math and logic test that has little relevance to the skills diplomats need in their careers.”
Similarly, some experts say that stringent bilingual standards – while a worthy goal for civil servants in general – were limiting foreign-service recruitment from Western and Atlantic Canada, where access to quality French education is lower.
“Frankly I think some flexibility is necessary here,” Mr. Meyer said. “Especially when it comes to tapping more into diaspora communities, where you have some pretty significant foreign-language capabilities.”
Any increase in staffing will come at a major cost, however. Overseas diplomats are among the most expensive civil servants to the taxpayer, and justifying such spending during a time of economic uncertainty can be difficult, particularly when Canadians tell pollsters time and again that they don’t care about foreign policy, something Ms. Nadjibulla said was more about a misunderstanding of the benefits of diplomatic work than any actual antipathy toward it.
“Leadership plays a role, in having a real conversation with Canadians about the importance of our presence in the world,” she said, adding that recent diplomatic crises involving China and India “should bring home the point that diplomacy matters.”
“Issues around foreign interference, cybersecurity, transnational repression, these are things that are now hitting us here in Canada,” Ms. Nadjibulla added. Addressing them requires Canada “to be fully engaged with the world.”
With a report from Geoffrey York in Johannesburg
James Griffiths