Canada, Extractivism, and Hemispheric Relations

This chapter focuses on how extractivism increasingly dominates the direction of Canada’s domestic development as well as its hemispheric relations. We describe the instrumental role that Canada’s policies are playing in accentuating an extractivist paradigm that is shared by both neoliberal and progressive Latin American governments, and how such policies are shaping north–south relations. Whereas a large majority of Canadians believe that Canada’s foreign policy should be based on peacekeeping, mediation, and being a global leader on the environment (Broadbent Institute 2013), the reality of Canada’s presence in many Latin American nations is discordant with those values. Canadian foreign policy in the region is increasingly being driven by the interests of Canadian and global extractive capital (Veltmeyer 2013).