Ottawa

Bunk with the Brits: To save money, the Canadian government plans to house its diplomats in several countries at the British Embassy rather than open its own embassy. “This arrangement allows us to focus on smart diplomacy,” Foreign Minister John Baird said this week, “without spending large amounts of taxpayers’ dollars on bricks and mortar.” Canadian analysts poured scorn on the proposal, saying it would undermine Canadian sovereignty and influence. “This is a dumb idea,” said former Ambassador Louis Delvoie. “There are many parts of the world where it’s best not to be identified with Britain, such as in the Caribbean and Africa, where Britain was a colonial power.” Britain and Canada share a head of state, the queen.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More