With Them And Against Them: Canada's Relations With Nicaragua, 1979-1990
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Date
2009-09-02T20:23:24Z
Authors
Bishop, Adam
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
Canada's relations with Nicaragua changed greatly during the 1980s after the Sandinista National
Liberation Front (FSLN) came to power in a revolution which overthrew the Somoza dynasty. For the
first few years of the new regime in Nicaragua, Canada provided little support, declaring that
Canadians had no significant interests in the country and there was no reason for them to get involved
in Central America's ongoing conflicts. When Brian Mulroney first came to power with Joe Clark as
his Secretary of State for External Affairs, the Progressive Conservatives generally held to the course
set by the previous Liberal government. However, as the 1980s went on the Conservatives began
providing Nicaragua with more bilateral aid, and became increasingly involved in the regional peace
process known as Esquipulas; this culminated in Canadian peacekeepers entering the region in 1990 as
part of a UN peacekeeping force. The major impetus for the government's change in attitude was the
strong and consistent pressure placed on the government by the Canadian public. Aid raised privately
by Canadians for Nicaragua overshadowed government aid for much of the decade, making the
government response look weak. The support of the Canadian public for action in Central America
was the major factor which pressured the federal government into becoming more involved in
Nicaragua, even though the government was not as supportive of the new regime in Nicaragua as a
large portion of the Canadian public often was.
Description
Keywords
Nicaragua, Canada, foreign affairs, Sandinista, Mulroney, Trudeau, Clark, official development assistance