CANZUK: a New Commonwealth Superpower?

In a context of increased polarization and fragmentation in the world, as some alliances are forming and some are breaking up, others are rising from their ashes. CANZUK, an acronym that encompasses Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, is the project of a new community between four states of the Commonwealth that would enable free movement of people and goods. Although the British Empire’s days are long gone, this new idea is becoming increasingly popular and becoming more and more relevant.

In the second half of the twentieth century, when the British Empire disappeared, each member sought to integrate more in its respective region. Canada continued working closely with the United States while Australia and New Zealand developed closer links under the Tasman Arrangement. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom joined the European Communities (CE) in 1973. Nevertheless, today, the effectiveness of this strategy is questionable, amid rising tariffs between the U.S. and Canada, and between Australia and China, as well as Brexit, which left the United Kingdom out of the European trading bloc. It is worth noting that the United Kingdom was never fully integrated into the European project, as it opposed projects that promoted closer ties, such as the Schengen Area and the Eurozone. Australia is increasingly feeling pressure from China, and Canada failed to get a seat on the Security Council of the United Nations. CANZUK seeks a closer union between these states for more weight and power on global issues.

The CANZUK bloc would encompass the states of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, as well as the United Kingdom in an economic union with an estimated total GDP of 6.5 trillion U.S. Dollars and a population of 140 million (GDP/capita at 46,000$). In this context, the CANZUK union will seek to form a bloc of countries that share a similar foreign policy and legal system, which would enable them to exert more weight on global issues.

The CANZUK alliance would facilitate migrations between the four countries by enabling freedom of movement. It would establish free trade by removing tariffs and other barriers, forming a common market. On the foreign policy level, CANZUK countries would hold a stronger voice on global issues, given that they agree on the issue at hand.

 Numerous officials in the concerned states have expressed interest in the project; Prime Minister Trudeau has already said that Canada and the U.K can go for “an even larger or more impactful deal” post-Brexit. Canada’s Opposition leader Erin O’Toole also advocates for a CANZUK trade and mobility deal. Parliament members and senators from the four countries and both sides of the political spectrum have expressed interest in CANZUK. Nevertheless, liberals are more prone to support the formation for foreign policy coordination reasons while conservatives are more prone to support it for ‘common identity’ reasons. 2020 showed that a close collaboration between the states was possible: Canada and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement to criticize the national security law in Hong Kong and over the war in Nagorno Karabakh.

 With that being said, CANZUK is also criticized and opposed by many parties. The project faces accusations of racism, due to the exclusion of other commonwealth countries, such as South Africa and The Bahamas, and some simply think that it is too inconvenient to trade due to the large distances between the countries. Moreover, some countries, such as Australia, have republican sentiments that would bring it farther from the United Kingdom. Additionally, recent reports on the Queen’s consent to laws as well as the unpopularity of Prince Charles raise doubts on the viability of the monarchy in the United Kingdom and could make the CANZUK project feel like a piece of the past.

In a world of rising tensions and threats, The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada appear as like-minded countries that can benefit from collaborating on global issues and challenging other blocs such as the United States and the European Union. While freedom of movement and trade can boost the economies of the countries and bring more competitiveness to the market, one can wonder if the United Kingdom, currently battling Brexit, the threat of Scottish independence, and Republicanism can come together with its closest allies to form a bloc that can be relevant in the 21st century.