Canada’s ties with Cuba will stay strong, expert says

Canada’s close relationship with Cuba won’t be weakened by the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Cubans and Americans, says Deanna Horton, a visiting senior fellow at U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reopened the American embassy in Havana on Aug. 15, following up on President Barack Obama’s promise to normalize relations. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, and imposed an official commercial, economic and financial embargo in 1962.

That embargo continues despite the rapprochement, and the difficulty of lifting it is one reason Canada can feel confident about the future, Horton said. A career foreign service officer, Horton has worked in the Canadian embassy in Washington, where she was responsible for congressional, public and intergovernmental affairs.

Perhaps even more important than the embargo is the special relationship Canadians have with Cubans, which goes beyond tourism.

“Millions of Canadians have gone to Cuba more than once,” Horton said. “They love the people.

“And Cubans in general regard Canadians very favourably. I think there are some shared values in the sense that Cubans are focused on health care and education. It’s more than the beautiful beaches.”

While the relationship has “waxed and waned” over the years depending on events, she said, both personal and government ties have been longstanding. Visits by singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen in 1961 and the late prime minister Pierre Trudeau in 1976 were important landmarks.

Some social scientists have predicted that Canada will lose its influence in Cuba as established Canadian companies get squeezed out by American competitors. Horton, who once worked for Sherrit International, the largest Canadian company in Cuba, disagrees.

“Cubans tend to want investments that will be good for the economy,” she said. “They don’t just accept anyone who comes along who wants to invest.

“Cuba’s economy is changing, slowly, but the Cubans are conservative in their approach. They will be very selective, and I believe it will be easier for Canadian companies than American companies.”

American companies also have to deal with restrictions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department before they can get licences to invest in Cuba, Horton added. There are no such restrictions in Canada.

It may take a long time for the embargo to be lifted because Obama is not empowered to do this alone. It is up to Congress, which has shown no sign of taking such action.

Horton has been following the opposition to the détente among such Republicans as Marco Rubio of Florida and Bob Menendez of New Jersey. These politicians of Cuban descent “have a visceral dislike of the Cuban government.” But many young Cuban Americans have no memory of the revolution and want to see the embargo lifted.

Other issues need to be resolved, including American claims for land and businesses that were expropriated after the revolution.

“Guantanamo is the elephant in the room, no doubt about that,” Horton added. The U.S. naval base there has been leased from Cuba since 1903, though the Cuban government refuses payment and wants the base removed.

Mark Entwistle, the former Canadian ambassador to Cuba, has written that Cuba has its own sovereign views about its  economic priorities. "U.S. business will want to have a look at a market that is new and even exotic for them. Canadian business is not accustomed to seeing our American neighbours in Cuba. All will have to adapt.”

Entwistle also wrote that “Canada needs to take a strategic decision to be at the Cuban table to play.”

Horton agrees. But she believes Canada’s longstanding ties to Cuba give it the edge.

“We are viewed as impartial, with no agenda and not judgmental,” she said, pointing to the many medical and educational links between the countries and “extensive” Canadian aid programs that have benefited Cuba.