When a young Jeffrey Marder (Toronto, 1967) bought a plane ticket to Europe to get lost in Portugal and Spain after graduating in History, he would hardly have imagined that, decades later, he would return to these capitals as the Ambassador of Canada: first in Lisbon and now in Madrid. Nor would he have foreseen, upon landing again in Spain in September, that his country would be thrust into the global geopolitical spotlight, courtesy of Donald Trump.
"Canada is on everyone's lips", says Marder, who receives EL MUNDO at the headquarters of his diplomatic mission in Madrid. Reasons abound: in just six months, the prodigal son Justin Trudeau resigned; the former outsider Mark Carney became the leader of the Liberal Party and shortly after, the Prime Minister; the seemingly sure winner of the federal elections, the conservative Pierre Poilievre, lost his seat; and Canada has been embroiled in a trade war with its neighbor, the United States, following Trump's threats to turn the country into the "51st state".
Canada returns to the international forefront this week by hosting the G-7 summit in Alberta, at a time when leaders are more divided than ever over U.S. trade policy and deep disagreements with Washington on how to address the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
"There is great interest, both from Spain and other European partners, in how the Canadian government and people are reacting to these new challenges we face from our biggest and most important partner. Being able to host this summit, as well as participate in the upcoming EU-Canada and NATO meetings at the end of the month, will allow us to show strength in facing the challenges ahead in this renewed geopolitical landscape," says Marder.