Ottawa Spent $1 million In Unsuccessful Bid for UN Security Council Seat

Newly released documents show diplomats made a total of 150 trips in support of the bid.

After Ottawa lost a vote for a seat on the Security Council for the first time in 50 years, the Conservatives portrayed the rebuff as a moral victory, saying that it was their principled support for Israel that cost them international support. But documents introduced in the House of Commons this week suggest the Conservatives coveted the seat and since January 2008 Canadian diplomats racked up nearly $1 million making 150 trips to woo other nations, with particular focus on the Middle East. Canadian officials entertained representatives from Cuba, Thailand, Bosnia, and other countries by taking them to New York Yankees game in the U.S., but to no avail. UN member nations voted to give Portugal the seat instead.