Canada announces Rwanda high commission as Trudeau arrives for 10-day foreign trip
![Trudeau, Summit of the Americas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a closing press conference following the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, Calif., June 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2022/6/22/trudeau--summit-of-the-americas-1-5957718-1655887924268.jpg)
Canada will open a high commission in Rwanda as part of efforts to combat the influence of Russia and China in Africa, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced on Wednesday shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in the country to begin a 10-day overseas trip.
“Yes, we know that Russia is present on the continent. Yes, we know that China is increasingly present also on the continent. We can't be naive,” Joly told reporters in Kigali.
“We need to make sure that we have the diplomats on the ground with eyes and ears listening to what's going on, to make sure that we can play a positive role with Rwanda and the entire region.”
She said Canada is setting up a permanent high commission in Kigali, with an ambassador, and will also name a new ambassador to the African Union, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The prime minister's plane touched down at sunset on Wednesday in Kigali, where he will gather beginning Thursday with the heads of government from the other 53 countries in the Commonwealth for the first time since 2018.
The original meeting, planned for 2020, was, like so much else, put off by the COVID-19 pandemic that is still an important backdrop to the talks.
The consequences of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, have been felt around the globe - particularly in some of the smaller nations whose leaders Trudeau will meet in Kigali.
The conflict sparked a massive refugee crisis. It also limited other countries' access to wheat from Ukraine, often referred to as the breadbasket of Europe because of its significant food production.
African countries, 19 of which are Commonwealth members, have faced especially severe food insecurity as a result. The UN World Food Program has warned that millions of people in the developing world and conflict zones are in danger of starvation.
Before the war, Russia and Ukraine produced about 30 per cent of the world's exported grain. The closure of key ports in the Black Sea has made it difficult to ship those goods to the countries that need them.
“We are ready to send ships to Romania, basically to get every single grain out of Ukraine. We need to free the wheat,” Joly said.
Dealing with the emerging geopolitical consequences of the conflict in Ukraine is what Joly calls the “third phase” of Canada's response to the Russian invasion and said there will be further announcements on that front this week.
Trudeau spoke about potential measures during a phone call last week with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, who will be hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Canada will also be rallying support for Ukraine among Commonwealth members and attempt to win over any leaders who may be on the fence about condemning Russia.
When the United Nations voted to suspend Russia from the human rights council in April, 58 countries abstained from the vote. Of those, 29 were Commonwealth countries.
Macky Sall, the president of Senegal and chair of the African Union, blamed western sanctions on Russia for stopping the flow of grain. He made the remarks at a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
Joly said it will be important to hear from members of the African Union and those who abstained from the UN vote to understand where they're coming from - and how to change their minds.
That will be her goal on Thursday when she sits down with her counterpart from India, a country with long-standing diplomatic ties to Russia.
In Kigali, Trudeau will take part in meetings with Commonwealth leaders and roundtable discussions on the climate economy. Prince Charles and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are also both scheduled to attend the gathering. The Queen attended the 2018 Commonwealth summit, which took place at Buckingham Palace.
Trudeau is also expected to pay his respects at the Kigali Genocide Memorial on Thursday, in memory of the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi people.
He will depart for Schloss Elmau, a resort in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, for the G7 leaders' summit on Saturday before heading to a NATO meeting in Madrid next week. He will also meet Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress said it expects Trudeau to spur other leaders into action on Ukraine when he is in Germany and Spain.
Congress head Ihor Michalchyshyn said he spoke to Ukrainian defence officials in a recent trip to Kyiv, who highlighted the dire situation they're facing with dwindling military equipment.
“They don't have enough weapons. They've been actually saying that they're going to run out of ammunition in coming weeks and months,” Michalchyshyn said.
“If there's nothing of substance announced and operationalized there, the rhetoric is empty.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to address the G7 and NATO summits, where the conversation will be largely focused on economic and military support for the embattled country.
Last week in Brussels, Defence Minister Anita Anand, who will join Trudeau at the NATO summit, announced Canada would deliver 10 replacement artillery barrels, worth $9 million, to support the M777 howitzer artillery guns already provided.
As of the end of January, 33,346 candidates for the Security Forces of Ukraine have participated in Canada's training program, called Operation Unifier, since September 2015.
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins pressed Trudeau during his visit to Canada last month for a more permanent military presence in the Baltics to counter any Russian perceptions of NATO weakness in the area.
Canada currently has nearly 700 troops leading a NATO battlegroup in Latvia, one of several in the region. At a joint news conference with Karins in Ottawa, Trudeau announced one general and six staff officers from the Canadian Armed Forces would be deployed to a NATO headquarters in Adazi near the Latvian capital of Riga, but deferred any major decisions to the NATO talks.
The serious conflict between Ukraine and Russia has drawn more countries to the coming NATO meeting in Madrid, including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He is he first Japanese leader to join a top meeting of the North Atlantic military alliance.
Sweden and Finland, which have applied to join NATO, are sending delegations. South Korea's new President Yoon Suk-yeol has also signalled his intention to attend.
Trudeau is expected to return to Ottawa on June 30, in time for Canada Day celebrations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2022.
IN DEPTH
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6922467.1718138898!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6850735.1713368648!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.5346613.1719853464!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
If you qualify for this tax credit, you can expect a payment in your bank account this week
The next quarterly GST/HST tax credit payment is expected to go out this week, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
U.S. Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts
The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for any actions that were within his constitutional powers as president, but can for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.
These ultraprocessed foods may shorten your life, study says
Eating higher levels of ultraprocessed food may shorten lifespans by more than 10 per cent, according to a new, unpublished study of over 500,000 people whom researchers followed for nearly three decades.
WATCH: Ode to Newfoundland rings out at emotional internment of Unknown Soldier
As part of the emotional ceremony honouring Newfoundland and Labrador's Unknown Soldier, the province's national anthem, The Ode to Newfoundland, was sung. Military members received special permission from defence officials to salute the Ode.
This 12-year-old memorized the periodic table at age two. He's heading to NYU after finishing high school in just two years
Recent high school graduate Suborno Isaac Bari, 12, plans to start studying math and physics at New York University in the fall, but he’s already got his ambitious sights set on beginning a doctoral program.
Judge calls Jeffrey Epstein 'most infamous pedophile in American history' as he releases transcripts
A Florida judge released Monday afternoon the transcripts of a 2006 grand jury investigation that looked into sex trafficking and rape allegations made against the late millionaire and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Eddie Murphy is still stung by that David Spade joke on 'Saturday Night Live'
Eddie Murphy is reflecting on some of the “cheap shots” he feels he’s taken over the years.
Possible indecent gesture at Euro 2024 game under investigation
England star Jude Bellingham is being investigated by UEFA over a potentially offensive gesture made during a European Championship win against Slovakia.
On July 1, 1916, a generation of Newfoundlanders died in one brief battle
Millions are celebrating Canada’s 157th birthday this year -- as they do every year -- with fireworks, food and family. In Newfoundland, it is a day of mourning for one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.
Local Spotlight
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6946213.1719658191!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
LGBTQ2S+ newcomers celebrate first Pride in Canada
When Zhya Aramiy was living in Turkey and Iraq, he had to keep his Pride flags hidden away.
Raves, weddings, and field trips: GTA residents share memories of shuttered Ontario Science Centre
A rave at the Ontario Science Centre was the place where Greg LeBlanc says his relationship first began with his husband Mark in 1997.
Travellers watch as WestJet cancels flights with no end to mechanics strike in sight
Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.
An unknown Newfoundland soldier killed in the First World War is being laid to rest
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
AHS water quality tests come back clean: Calgary moves forward with stabilizing service
The city is entering the final stages of resuming water service through its repaired feeder main, as water consumption continues to fall below the city’s threshold level.
'I am very proud': Manitoba grandfather and grandson graduate high school in same class
A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.
'Absolutely amazing video': Basking shark spotted along eastern shore of Nova Scotia
A large basking shark was captured close to the shoreline on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.
World's largest hockey stick in B.C. to be chopped up, sold to collectors
The world's largest hockey stick could soon become the world's most in-pieces hockey stick as a Vancouver Island community prepares to tear down and carve up the Canadian landmark.
'Hanging on for her life': Sask. family desperate to bring home sick niece from Philippines
For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.