Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to back American strikes against Iran has provoked much controversy. Even though he and several of his ministers partially walked back some of this initial enthusiastic support, the debate still raises difficult questions about what Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand refers to as principled pragmatism. Is Canada moving away from its allegedly traditional support for international law? How can Canada’s rhetorical support for the war in Iran, even if watered down, be reconciled with the principles Mr. Carney enounced in his speech in Davos in January? And how can these principles be reconciled with Mr. Carney declining to close the door on Canada’s eventual participation in the war?
