The Attributes of Reconciling Canada-Saudi Arabia Diplomatic Relations following the August 2018 Dispute, while Navigating the Light-Armoured Vehicle (LAV) Deal

Abstract

Bilateral relations between Ottawa and Riyadh are important to Canada. Since the inception of its diplomatic ties in 1974, Canada has sought to maintain a cordial relationship with the Saudi Kingdom, in order to sustain its primary interests in promoting security and stabilization in the Middle East, as well as strengthen its commercial ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and to a lesser extent, the rest of the Arab Gulf states. In 2015, the Liberal government recognized that despite its Party’s initial controversial views of the Light-Armoured Vehicle (LAV)/General Dynamics Land Systems Canada (GDLS-C)-Saudi Contract (LAV Deal), the contract not only aligned with Canada’s aforementioned strategic interests in the region, but was also beneficial for the Canadian Defence Industry. However, it was the House of Saud’s strong reaction to the Canadian Foreign Ministry’s public criticism of Saudi Arabia’s deplorable human rights record in August 2018, and the resultant increasing domestic pressures for Canada to uphold the principle of promoting and protecting human rights, after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018, that caused the Canadian government to seek to find the best course of action to take moving forward, to ensure a sound decision was made regarding Canada’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and the competing interests at stake relating to the LAV deal. This Policy Paper focuses on the Canada-Saudi Arabia dispute of August 2018, and provides recommendations on how the Canadian government can reconcile its diplomatic relations with the Saudi Kingdom as an act of public policy, when there are competing interests at stake and divergent opinions regarding the controversial LAV deal.