Good afternoon. Thank you for being here at an important time for the international system and the world by extension.
One of our shared challenges is that if the multilateral system fails to reflect the realities of the time, it won’t stand the test of that time. But at the same time, the need for multilateral cooperation is very much alive.
The post-war world is ending, but the underlying logic of that world that justified multilateral cooperation is more compelling than ever.
The climate emergency is intensifying. Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than our capacity to control it.
Pandemics can spread across continents in weeks.
Financial shocks can disrupt markets in hours.
Armed conflicts can destabilise entire regions and force millions to flee from their homes.
Global chokepoints can paralyse supply chains.
No one country, no matter how powerful, can manage these challenges alone.
Cooperation is therefore not an act of idealism. It is a practical necessity. The question is not whether multilateralism can survive, but how it must evolve to meet the realities of the moment.
In many respects, this is a time that comes once or twice in a century, a moment in which our collective prosperity is defined by what we choose to build, and how we build it.
What comes ahead is not wishful multilateralism, which defends only the status quo, nor cold realpolitik that dismantles the status quo altogether.
The alternative that Canada and many others are pursuing is values-based realism. An approach that is both principled and pragmatic. Principled in its commitment to the fundamental values of freedom, human rights, sustainability, and solidarity. Pragmatic in recognising that not every partner will share all of those values.
Put simply, we must form calibrated alliances, integrating deeply with those countries who share our values, and remaining open-eyed with those who do not.
This means actively taking on the world as it is, not passively waiting for a world we wish to be. It means engaging with the reality that progress can sometimes be incremental and that interests often diverge. It requires focusing our efforts to work together where we are aligned and where we can make the greatest impact. Progress can be signalled through monologue, but it will only be achieved through dialogue and action.
We’ve demonstrated aspects of this focus this week, at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Canada believes in cooperation.
In a fragmented world, cooperation is not an ideal – it is a necessity.
Five days ago, in Strasbourg, I laid out Canada’s case for a partnership for the future with the European Union – one that is open enough for others to join.
Our goal is not self-sufficiency. It is collective resilience.
It is in this same spirit that we launched the Partners for Multilateralism coalition. It is not yet another block or bureaucracy.
It is a new forum that bridges the gap between universal institutions, practical coalitions, and capacities that exist beyond governments. It will help build trust, bring together those who are ready to take action, and accelerate the development of promising solutions that could eventually – and with full legitimacy – be deployed on a larger scale.
Canada knows that effective, international action doesn’t require unanimity. States with common interests can advance shared priorities, which others will join as the value becomes more evident. Success breeds success just as virtue begets virtue.
This evening, alongside the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the President of France, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), I will co-host a meeting on the two-state solution and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2803.
In Gaza, immense human suffering continues. Next door, Israelis continue to live with existential threats – from Hamas, and from Iran and its proxies.
A long-held international consensus for a two-state solution – a consensus held by every one of my predecessors since the formation of this organisation – will mean nothing if these conditions continue. And so Canada is doing what it can to help change this trajectory.
To that end, as one element, I am announcing $100 million in international assistance for Palestine – $80 million of which is for humanitarian aid, to alleviate immediate human suffering, and $20 million to support peace and security capacity building, including our leadership of police training in the West Bank.
Canada and our partners recognise the direct threat to peace posed by the Israeli government’s endorsement of the E1 settlement scheme, and with reluctance, we have announced our intention to bring forward trade restrictions targeting goods produced in those illegal Israeli settlements.
This is pragmatic, practical action that works toward the preservation of the possibility of a two-state solution, and ultimately a durable peace for Israelis and Palestinians.
Canada believes in sustainable development. It also believes that we have a responsibility to protect our shared heritage.
As co-chair of the OceanEye Alliance, I have joined forces with the President of the European Commission to rally our partners around a clearer, shared vision of the oceans on which we all depend. This is essential to making the seas safer, ensuring the sustainability of the ocean economy, and preserving climate stability. We cannot protect what we cannot observe.
That is why Canada is investing $82 million to strengthen global ocean observation. It is also why we have just ratified the High Seas Treaty, to extend protection to international waters, which cover nearly half the planet.
Next year, Canada will host the Our Ocean conference, which will bring together governments, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and coastal communities around a shared goal: to move from ambition to action to protect our oceans and ensure their sustainability.
Partners are working with Canada because Canada is predictable, reliable, and principled in a world that is anything but.
We are applying our principles in groups sometime small, but groups formed around problems rather than geography or size. This variable geometry is not an alternative to multilateralism, but an instrument of it.
In short: Building trust and proving what works with those ready to act. Then bringing it back to the multilateral system to be strengthened, broadened, and scaled.
The real choice is not between trying to preserve the international order established after the Second World War or abandoning it.
As the 6th largest donor to the UN and a values-based realist, Canada will continue to work in all fora to advance and to deliver for our citizens the dignity, peace, sustainability, and prosperity that they deserve.