The global headlines these day are very much hogged by the chaos embroiling a handful of countries – the US, the UK, France, Italy, and Brazil. Other important nations like Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran continue to have their place too, but the world’s attention has been focused squarely on the the five countries whose recent political history has been transformed by a series of events that led to populist governments, internal chaos, huge policy shifts, or unexpected victories.

In the US, President Trump was elected on anti-immigration, populist platform, that he has been trying, and struggling, to implement. Brazil elected their divisive new President, Jair Bolsonaro, last year despite a large number of homophobic, sexist, and racist comments and an affection for torture and Brazil’s former military dictatorship. The UK is gripped by Brexit chaos following their vote to leave the EU, whilst France’s centrist President – who beat the establishment in the 2017 election – is faced with riots on the streets. Italy’s right wing populist government has also made headlines with their anti-immigrant agenda.

Why you should hear about Canada

The internal turmoil and scandal of other countries, which might have been picked up on in normal times, have been largely ignored if they do not pose grave threats to the global system, aren’t historically powerful, or aren’t gripped by populism, as those other nations all are. One such country is Canada, where the Liberal Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in the midst of its biggest crisis yet, just months ahead of an election that looks set to be close. With Canada being a major political force in the world – particularly to the UK, to whom it is a major supplier of gold – and with their election being important for their approach to foreign policy, get to know what’s going on.

What’s happening in Canada?

The SNC-Lavalin affair, as it has become known, has centred around corruption allegations that go right to the top of the Canadian Government, right to the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, and has so far sparked the resignation of the country’s Attorney General over political pressure she faced to intervene in criminal proceedings and has seriously hit Prime Minister Trudeau’s poll ratings.

It started with Canadian company SNC-Lavalin facing charges of fraud and corruption in connection with nearly $48 million in payments made to Libyan government officials between 2001 and 2011. If convicted, the company could be blocked from competing for government contracts for a decade.

The company had hoped that it could resolve its charges with what’s a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), which would spare the company a trial and possible criminal conviction. The company was judged by the country’s prosecution service not to qualify for a DPA, but SNC-Lavalin had lobbied government officials for one. Matters were worsened by the fact that the Trudeau Government introduced the DPA, and was lobbied to do so by SNC-Lavalin.

SNC Lavalin employs nearly 9,000 people, particularly in Quebec which a key area of the country for the Liberal Government, who sought to end any risk to those jobs posed by a prosecution. Canada’s Attorney General resigned from the government alleging huge amounts of pressure had been applied to her to step in to help the company – pressure that has been seen as corrupt and wrong, prompting the current scandal.