After a week of jaw-dropping accusations, the quaint world of 2015 seems far away [Video]

Nine years ago this fall, the leaders of the three major federal parties at the time gathered on a stage in Toronto for a debate on foreign policy. The resulting discussion seems a bit quaint now.

The topics covered — Canada’s contribution to the fight against the Islamic State, a refugee crisis in Syria, the Conservative government’s anti-terror laws — were not exactly trifling. But India received only a glancing reference. Donald Trump, who had announced his candidacy for president of the United States four months earlier, wasn’t mentioned at all. Neither was China.

Literally and figuratively, it was a different time.

Canada’s relationship with China was defined by “panda diplomacy,” not “hostage diplomacy.” “Foreign interference” had not yet entered the popular lexicon. And there was no reason to ask the party leaders how they would respond if they learned of accusationsthat a nominal ally had propagated a campaign of violence and extortion against Canadian citizens on …