G20 Country Canada: Key Player In Global Economic Arena
Canada played a leading role in the creation of the G20 and was instrumental in setting up the first meeting of G20 leaders in 2008.
Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau
- Justin Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister. Before entering politics, Justin served as the Chair of Katimavik, on the board of the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, and had been an advocate for climate action.
Canada, known for its vibrant multicultural society and breathtaking landscapes, also holds a prominent position on the world stage as a member of the Group of Twenty (G20). The country has been a full member of the G20 since the bloc was formed in 1999 in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis. Canada played a leading role in the creation of the G20 and was instrumental in setting up the first meeting of G20 leaders in 2008.
As the second-largest country in the world in terms of area, Canada brings to the G20 table its unique blend of natural resources, economic stability, and inclusive policies.
It hosted the fourth G20 summit, held in Toronto on June 26–27, 2010 and hosted under the theme ‘Recovery and New Beginnings'. The summit focused on the ‘Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth’ and the completion of Phase-I work comprising MAP (or ‘peer review’) by groupings of countries.
At the time of the G20 Toronto Summit, most of the countries were entering recovery mode from the global economic recession. The Summit Declaration stated that serious challenges remained in the form of high unemployment rates in various economies and the concurrent existence of the impact of the financial crisis. In its post-summit document, the International Monetary Fund indicated that a speedy cut in deficits might substantially slow growth.
Apart from the G20 members, five invitee countries included Ethiopia, Malawi, Spain, the Netherlands, and Vietnam. and heads of seven international organisations—Financial Stability Board, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.
Canada has always been a trading nation, and commerce remains the engine of economic growth. Today, Canada is one of the ten largest economies in the world and is part of the G8 comprising leading industrialised countries including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Japan, and Russia.
Justin Trudeau attended the 2022 G20 summit, held in Indonesia, and will be attending the 2023 India summit too. Canada and the other 19 G20 members represent 65 per cent of the world's population, 75 per cent of global trade, and 85 per cent of the world GDP.
The other members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US, as well as the European Union.