What do leadership changes mean for Canada?

Boy are there leadership changes coming about in this hemisphere. Mexico has a new president, Felipe Calderón. Fidel Castro hasn't been in public in some time in Cuba. And closer to home for Canadians, Stephane Dion is the new leader of the Liberal Party, which makes him the opposition leader in Parliament.

Calderón was inaugurated last week to succeed Vicente Fox. Calderón has a tough road ahead of him; he got less than 50 percent of the vote in a disputed election and his party controls less than half of Congress. But Mexico is important to Canada in NAFTA and other areas. Hopefully, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will welcome Calderón with open arms and talk about issues important to both countries. So much is placed on the U.S. element to this trilateral relationship. But Bush has been distracted/uninterested in the process, so Harper and Calderón should grab the initiative.

The question in Cuba is the extent of Raul Castro's influence, and how much will that grow when Fidel Castro dies. Canada has had a healthy relationship with Cuba; unlike the U.S., Canadians travel there on a regular basis and you can freely spend Canadian dollars in Cuba. It's possible that when things do change in Cuba that Canada will benefit from their previous relationship. But a growing U.S. influence will change the dynamic currently held between Canada and Cuba.

Dion has a rough road ahead of him. He must rally supporters of other key rivals, such as the controversial pro-Iraq-war candidate Michael Ignatieff and former Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden. And he must also step up his English, which is coming along (his native tongue is French).

He has been a member of Parliament since 1996, has served as minister of Intergovernmental Affairs under Jean Chretien and minister of environment under Paul Martin. For all the questions people might have of the new Liberal Party leader, the biggest question is how well will he do against Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the next general election. Now that we have a Liberal leader, we might find out quite soon.