Canada
In response to a parliamentary petition urging Canada to ‘sign and commit to ratifying the TPNW’, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, said in September 2023: ‘Canada recognises that the entry into force of the [TPNW] reflects well-founded concerns about the slow pace of nuclear disarmament – concerns that Canada very much shares. While not a party to the TPNW, Canada has common ground with Treaty States and shares the ultimate goal of a world free from nuclear weapons.’[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Non-compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted no (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | N/A |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | No |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted no |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1969) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1998, Annex 2 state) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1972) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (21 Feb 1972) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | 1-10 tons |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Though Canada opted not to send an official observer delegation to the second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW in November and December 2023, several Canadian parliamentarians attended in their individual capacity. A government representative said that the executive would welcome a briefing from them on the outcomes of the meeting.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Canada said that Russia’s ‘reckless and unprovoked nuclear rhetoric’ was ‘a stark reminder that we cannot take for granted that nuclear weapons will not be used’. ‘Nuclear weapons proliferation and production are increasing at alarming rates,’ it warned, ‘despite the norm and global commitment to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.’3
Canada may sign and ratify or accede to the TPNW, but will have to make changes to its policies and practices to become compliant.
Recommendations
-
Canada should renounce the possession and potential use of nuclear weapons on its behalf, and ensure that nuclear weapons do not have a role in its defence posture.
-
Canada should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
-
Canada should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.