By Parry-Sound Muskoka MP Scott Aitchison
Have you ever heard of CANZUK? It is an acronym for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It is about establishing closer ties between these four economically and socially compatible countries.
The idea would be to create an alliance of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom that would facilitate the free movement of people and trade between us and where we would coordinate our individual foreign policy.
The free movement of people between each of these countries has the potential to benefit all of us in the same manner that the Trans-Tasman Travel Agreement has benefited Australia and New Zealand. This agreement has facilitated economic and social benefits for the two countries through a more efficient distribution of skill and labour between the two. Research done by CANZUK International has found that support for this concept is highest among young university educated people who love travel and whose skills are easily transferrable. A system which would encourage this ambitious age group to live and work in any of these four countries would help to grow all our economies.
The free movement of goods—free and fair trade agreements—are beneficial for economic prosperity as well. The economic and social similarities between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom help to make negotiating such an agreement between us far easier than the negotiations were for Canada and the European Union or the United States. This too could follow upon the heels of an already existing agreement between Australia and New Zealand—the Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER). While the agreement has evolved over time, it provided for the elimination of tariffs, and today a product that can be legally sold in one country may be sold in the other.
With a few exceptions, anyone registered to practise an occupation in one country may practice in the other. The benefits of the CER had a dramatic impact on both countries as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard described in her address to the New Zealand Parliament on February 16, 2011: “Two-way goods trade between our two countries has grown 8 percent a year since CER. Trans-Tasmin trade is worth around A$21 billion or NZ$27 billion a year.” The potential for economic opportunity is significant.
Greater cooperation on matters of foreign policy, defence, intelligence, and education also present huge opportunities for all four countries. CANZUK would facilitate a global geopolitical position rather than a regional position for all four countries—a position which would ensure more influence in a world where the voices of vibrant democracies like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are needed more than ever. This coordination could also serve to assist many of the developing nations—particularly those in the Commonwealth—with humanitarian support.
This is an idea whose time has arrived. I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this and encourage you to share ideas or concerns with me. Email me at: [email protected]
(Photo of Parliament Hill by festivio on Pixabay. Photo of Scott Aitchison courtesy of Scott Aitchison.)
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Wow this is incredible. The four country’s with the most relatives in the world now coming back in to the fold like beloved neighbors across the street years ago and once again sharing everything historically that we have in common which is indeed everything. Our beginnings were profoundly changed by history and separated by consequences that we could not control but now we are coming home again as one family united again. Only this time we won’t just be travelling to another country because wherever we go we will be home. God Bless this idea. Get it on fast track. Norm
Dale Peacock, FYI & Edification,
In a recent poll conducted across the four (4) initially proposed ‘CANZUK ????????Countries’, the support gleaned from this poll, made by C.I. & other similar ones, subsequently conducted by other leading International Polling Organizations, who backed up this 2018 poll with similar findings, the results in favour of the CANZUK ALLIANCE were as follows: 68% of Britons??; 73% of Australians??, 76% of Canadians?? & 81% of New Zealanders??! So as you are able then to deduce from these figures, CANZUK is currently a very much popular concept in all four countries, in which the interest & support for it is growing very broadly & quickly all over!!
In other news, there’s a 3rd wave of a worldwide pandemic, protesters being shot in Myanmar, boil water advisories across our country, and children living in poverty in our front yard.
Thanks Scott for proving without a doubt federal politicians are just as lost as their provincial counterparts.
This is an excellent idea.
At a cursory look, the idea seems appealing – hey, I’d love to retire to NZ – but I doubt that there is any serious chance that such a plan is ever seriously considered by Canadians, let alone adopted.
The notion of a ‘shared culture’ as a reason for CANZUK is a fallacy. The bedrock of official Canadian culture is multiculturalism so by definition, there is no place in Canadian policy for any preference to British people.
I don’t see how this subject could seriously be put forward in Canada without including the entire Commonwealth. I just can’t see any defensible basis to make a special agreement for Britain, Australia, and New Zealand and not extend the same offer to India, South Africa, and all of the other members of the Commonwealth.
Proposing CANZUK in Canada would be pretty quickly called out as an intolerant, if not racist, proposition and would exclude the party that proposed it from serious consideration at the ballot box.
Some who see this as a positive move seem to feel that Canada is something of a subsidiary culture to the UK, which hasn’t been the case for decades. Canada and the UK are friends and allies but that’s it. We repatriated our constitution – the last real tie – from Britain in 1982.
CANZUK can have no footing, at least not in Canada, and I seriously doubt that ANZUK wants it either.
This would be an awesome idea as my family has uk ties and we would love to be able to go there and explore our roots for less. Any discount of travel there would be great and I personally would love to see new Zealand.
The auditor general claims there is over 5 billion dollars lost in Canada due to inter provincial trade barriers. Isn’t it time the Feds cleaned up their own backyard before they go signing agreements with other nations.