By Irwin Cotler and Noah Lew

Now that Mark Carney has been chosen as the new leader of the Liberal party, Canada is likely on the verge of a federal election — a time for Canadians to re-evaluate our priorities and vision for Canada. The impending election comes at a crucial juncture for our country, and indeed, the entire world.

For the first time since the Cold War, we are once again facing a divided world — not between two superpowers, but between two ideological alliances — liberal democracy and repressive authoritarianism. The latter regimes — a new “axis of evil” — are engaging in an increasingly coordinated assault on the rules-based international order, seeking to co-opt international institutions and international law and destabilize liberal democracies.