Canada-Cuba Relations 'Stable' Irrespective Of Ruling Party In Ottawa - Ambassador

Canada-Cuba Relations 'Stable' Irrespective of Ruling Party in Ottawa - Ambassador

Bilateral relations between Cuba and Canada have been marked by stability regardless of which political party has been in power in Ottawa, Cuban Ambassador to Canada Josefina Vidal told Sputnik

OTTAWA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2021) Bilateral relations between Cuba and Canada have been marked by stability regardless of which political party has been in power in Ottawa, Cuban Ambassador to Canada Josefina Vidal told Sputnik.

Canada is in the middle of its 44th national election after Governor General Mary Simon accepted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's request to dissolve parliament and hold a vote on September 20.

"In general, no matter the political [alignment] of the government in place in one specific moment, relations between Canada and Cuba have been characterized by stability," Vidal said.

Vidal noted that it was Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, a staunch anti-communist, who refused to sever political and economic ties with Cuba in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, despite pressure from the United States.

Additionally, Cuba's ambassador to Canada urged Canadians to reject the talking points emanating from the US state of Florida - home to a sizeable Cuban emigre community that opposes the current government - after Canada's state broadcaster CBC published an article in which an activist said Canadian tourists are feeding the "Cuban regime."

"I would say to Canadians: Don't trust these kind of narratives because they are being produced out of Miami, [Florida]," Vidal said.

The revenues generated by Cuba's tourism sector go directly to the country's budget to cover expenses, including education and healthcare, which ultimately benefit ordinary Cubans, Vidal said.