A bizarre spat has brewed up between Canada and Saudi Arabia after Canada’s foreign ministry expressed its concern over the arrest of Saudi civil society and women’s rights activists, which echoed what had already been said by the UN.
Saudi Arabia then threw a tantrum, expelling Canada’s ambassador, suspending new trade and investment with Ottawa, making plans to remove thousands of Saudi students and medical patients from Canada, and suspending the state airline’s flights to and from Canada. Analysts said the spat had little to do with Canada, but was a broader warning to western governments that any criticism of Saudi domestic policies is unacceptable.
While it may be true that Canada has been the fall guy set up as the example, there are obvious fault lines between the two country and both leaders’ charts.
Canada’s stalwart Saturn in Scorpio opposition Pluto falls across the Saudi 1902 10th/4th houses and squares the Saudi Mars – indicating that CA’s criticism of the Saudi government would bite. The Saudi chart also has a grandstanding 5th house Pluto which Canada’s Uranus opposes, which would also elbow their pride.
Justin Trudeau’s liberally-inclined Saturn opposition Neptune squares the Crown Prince MbS’s Virgo Sun, so the latter would feel put down. MbS’s Neptune is square JT’s Capricorn Sun and squares JT’s 2nd house Pluto, so MbS will be slippery in regard to Trudeau and attempt to undermine him financially.
Their relationship chart has a power-struggling-for-the-upper-hand composite Jupiter square Pluto; and an only-one-can-win Mars opposition Neptune. As does the Canada/Saudi relationship chart. Basically an ego-spat.
MbS does have the start of tr Uranus moving in hard aspect round his Fixed and pushily confident T Square of Pluto, Venus, Jupiter, which started a few weeks back and runs into 2020, so he’s likely to be over reacting and charging ahead regardless in several directions.
Neither side is suffering significant costs in the dispute so it may drag on. The USA typically has said nothing to help Canada, and even more typically neither has the UK, no doubt mindful of the money its defence contracts bring in.
It’s all the odder since MbS is supposed to be opening up Saudi Arabia and releasing women from their black laundry bags.
Stupid