Events

In June 2017, Canada introduced its Feminist International Assistance Policy and began to refer, in official documents and speeches, to its foreign policy more broadly as ‘feminist’. Despite these numerous references, a full feminist foreign policy was never set out by the government. After the election of 2019, and the shuffle of FFP-champion Chrystia Freeland out of foreign affairs, many wondered if feminist foreign policy had staying power. However, in a speech in February 2020 at the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, new minister François-Philippe Champagne promised a white paper on Canada’s feminist foreign policy, stating that Canada is ‘proud to have a feminist foreign policy, not because it looks good, but because it produces tangible and measurable results.’ Less than a month later, Canada was locked down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the federal government was suddenly fully focused on responding to this unprecedented crisis. By August, parliament was prorogued, with the government promising a new mandate to be presented in September. There has been no public statement about the promised white paper since February.

With this context in mind, these two joint panels consider the future of feminist foreign policy in Canada. These panels address policy concerns and prescriptions as well as theoretical, ethical and political considerations. What should a Canadian FFP look like, going forward? What kind of ‘tangible and measurable results’ can or should be expected? What understandings of gender and race inform feminist foreign policy, and what are the implications of these? Can FFP be truly intersectional? How, if at all, should our understanding of FFP be influenced by the socio-political and economic effects of the global pandemic?

Participants/Presenters

Stephen Brown (University of Ottawa): Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Canada’s ‘Feminist’ International Assistance

Marsha Henry (London School of Economics and Political Science): On the Necessity of Critical ‘Race’ and Feminist Theory for Peacekeeping Contexts

Margaret Jenkins (Central European University): What Should Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy Aim to Do

Laura Macdonald (Carleton University): Trading on Inequality? Evaluating Canada’s Approach to a Feminist Trade Policy

Fiona Robinson (Carleton University): The Vulnerable, Virtuous Woman: Reflections on Neoliberalism and Colonialism in Canada’s FIAP

Rebecca Tiessen (University of Ottawa): Whose Feminism (s)? Overseas Partner Organization’s Perceptions of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP)

Beth Woroniuk (Policy Lead, Equality Fund): Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy: A View from Civil Society

In this Bell Chair Lecture Series conversation between Dr. Annette Isaac and PhD Candidate Amanda Roberts, Dr. Isaac outlines her evolving stages of consciousness of racism during her time at Carleton University, University of Alberta, and in international development. The conversation begins with an opening statement by Dr. Isaac to frame the discussion, then moves into a Q&A portion discussing racism and anti-racism in Canada, issues of representation, missing cues and imposter syndrome, and advice for grad students on building community.

Dr. Annette Isaac is an author and scholar with experience studying women and gender, feminism in Canada and the developing world, race, ethnicity, globalization, and more. She is co-author of Politics of Race, and in her recent memoir, Missing The Cues. Tales of a Newcomer’s Life in Canada, Dr. Isaac shares the subtle messages and hints that most newcomers in Canada tend to miss while building their social and professional lives. She not only studied at Carleton University, but was also an Adjunct Research Professor and Instructor in the Department of Political Science for a number of years.

Correction: Near the end of this talk Dr. Isaac referred to the valedictorian speech Chadwick Boseman gave at Howard last year, when she intended to describe it as his commencement speech.