Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says 2025 has been a “fundamentally important” year for Canada’s foreign policy as the country has sought to diversify its trading partners and reach new economic and security pacts with partners in Europe and Asia.

As the Trump administration in the U.S. has disrupted continental trade with new tariffs, Anand said the Liberal government has doubled down on efforts to shore up the Canadian economy by bolstering partnerships with other allies, including joining a European defence procurement pact.

The Security Action for Europe or SAFE agreement provides up to $244 billion in loans to EU member states to finance large-scale defence projects, and Canada’s participation will allow domestic manufacturers an opportunity to compete on equal terms with European counterparts for contracts.

“I don’t think people really understand the magnitude of that,” Anand said of SAFE during a year-end interview with iPolitics at her office in the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa.

“What SAFE means is that Canadian companies can compete for contracts and procurements on the same footing as European companies. That is unprecedented.”

Anand took over the foreign affairs portfolio in May weeks after the Liberals secured a fourth consecutive election victory, this time under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney.

A high-profile cabinet member in the Trudeau government, Anand previously served as the minister of industry, defence and procurement.

Her first year leading Canada’s foreign affairs ministry came as the country assumed the presidency of the G7, faced sweeping tariffs from the U.S. and sought to play an influential role in helping to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as supporting Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia.

The whirlwind year has seen Canada restart trade negotiations with India, launch free-trade talks with ASEAN and the South American Mercosur group and sign new trade and investment deals with United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, in addition to agreeing to spend to 2 per cent of GDP on defence starting next year (and 5 per cent by 2035).

All this comes as she has moved to centre Canada’s foreign policy in “pragmatism… imbued with urgency,” Anand said.

That idea has, in a way, formed the core of the government’s new foreign policy, one that has dispensed with its feminist labelling and focused on new strategic partnerships, including taking the first steps towards warming relations with India and China, two rising Asian powers that have clashed with Canada in recent years.

Canada-China relations have been on ice since the detention of two Canadians followed the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in 2018. China has also imposed tariffs on Canadian canola, while Canada has slapped steep duties on Chinese steel and electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, Canada accused India in 2023 of ordering the assassination of a Canadian citizen that India has accused of being a terrorist, leading to the expulsion of both countries’ diplomats in 2024. Both countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations earlier this year.

This movement towards improving the relationships with both countries came only after the U.S. imposed steep tariffs on Canadian goods, and signalled a move away from continental free trade.

Despite the trade dispute, Anand said her “close relationship” with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has helped both countries coordinate on issues like Haiti, Ukraine and Gaza, and stressed that the Canada-U.S. relationship remained strong.

“This is a relationship that has been long standing and mutually beneficial for decades upon decades upon decades. And while we work through the economic relationship between our countries in terms of trade, we are not slowing down on several other issues,” she said, adding the two countries are also working closely on strengthening supply chains for critical minerals.

This is perhaps best evidenced by Anand working closely with Rubio to win support at the United Nations this fall for a U.S. resolution to bolster a UN multinational force aimed at stopping powerful armed gangs in Haiti.

Anand said Rubio asked her directly to help support the resolution during a meeting in Washington in August, and Canada has stepped up to pledged $60 million in support for the country, including $20 million for maritime security.

She said Canada and its partners are working to bring more countries to the table in support of the UN effort to “make sure that the gang suppression force has the resources it needs.”

Even as the U.S. has sought to secure one-off trade deals, Anand has repeatedly touted the importance of multilateralism, pointing to the 14 outreach partners that were invited to the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting last month in Niagara Falls, including Mexico, Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia.

“It’s pretty unprecedented for the foreign minister, who’s the host, to invite so many outreach partners. Think about the magnitude of the collective voice around the table,” she said.

“The outreach partners were very much welcome by all the g7 foreign ministers because we’re in it a time of geopolitical change and economic stress. It is a time for collective action. It is a time for Canada’s leadership to shine through, and that’s exactly what we were able to exhibit at the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Niagara Falls.”