GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

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GLOBAL
DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Copyright © 1999 International Development Options
All Rights Reserved
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Volume One Winter 1998-Spring 1999 Numbers 3-4.
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CANADIAN-CUBAN RELATIONS: A MODEL FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM?
Peter McKenna John M. Kirk
Department of Political Latin American Studies
and Canadian Studies Dalhousie University
Mount Saint Vincent University Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3J5 Canada
B3M 2J6 Canada
Published online: December 15, 2016
ABSTRACT
Given the rigid and anachronistic nature of United States policy toward Castro's Cuba, Canada's favorable relations with the revolutionary government provide an interesting contrast in style and approach to the so-called "Cuba problem." Canada has emerged as one of Cuba's most important trading partners and Canadians represent the single largest number of tourists visiting Cuba. This article analyzes the nature of developments in Canadian-Cuban relations since 1993. Bilateral relations are discussed in the context of political, trade, economic and diplomatic issues. The article emphasizes the new approach of "constructive engagement" by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and the current Liberal government. Some of the issues examined are expanding trade relations, opposition to the U.S. Helms-Burton law, the March 1997 human rights accord between the two countries, and Ottowa's call for Cuba's reintegration into the Organization of American States (OAS). The article also examines the prospects for Canadian-Cuban relations in the coming millennium.
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