TEHRAN, Iran — Canadian Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau defeated the incumbent Conservatives on the back of promises of change on Oct. 19, after nearly a decadelong rule by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Among Trudeau’s most significant campaign pledges on foreign policy was political re-engagement with countries such as Iran, which had seen deteriorating bilateral relations under Harper.

On Sept. 7, 2012, Canada’s then-Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made the unexpected announcement that diplomatic relations with Iran would be cut at a news conference in Russia. The Conservative government cited Iran’s failure to protect Canadian diplomatic personnel, support for the Syrian government and stance toward Israel, among other issues, to justify the move. However, last year, national broadcaster CBC revealed the findings of an internal investigation into the safety of Canadian diplomats in Tehran. The probe’s results were in stark contrast with the assertions of Harper’s government; it outright concluded that there was no tangible threat against Canadian personnel stationed in Iran. Professor Dane Rowlands, who directs Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, told Al-Monitor he believes the “largely symbolic act” of cutting diplomatic ties was not in the interest of Ottawa. “To close an embassy except under extreme circumstances is, I think, an admission of diplomatic failure,” Rowlands told Al-Monitor.

Over the more than half a century that Iran and Canada have had formal relations, both sides have withdrawn their ambassadors at different times and also refused each other’s nominees as envoys on occasion. However, the cutting of all diplomatic relations had until 2012 been unprecedented. Tehran and Ottawa maintained their political ties even after the “Canadian Caper” of 1980, when Canadian Embassy staff in Tehran came to the aid of six US colleagues who had escaped the takeover of the American Embassy.

Canada’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Iran came amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, and genuine concerns about a possible military confrontation between Iran and the United States. Rowlands told Al-Monitor he believes the timing of the Harper administration’s move was “irresponsible,” given the potential for “miscommunication and misinterpretation.” Rowlands added, “Closing an embassy both removes the means for clarification of intentions as well as represents an overreaction that can lead to serious miscalculation.”