Abstract
This article argues that Canada is an imperial power in the global order, and that more traditional notions of Canada as a rich dependency or arguments that call for a project to defend Canadian sovereignty fail to properly account for this. Central to the Canadian state project, both in its historical and contemporary manifestations, is an agenda of accumulation by dispossession, in which Indigenous nations are a central target. In the period of neoliberalism, Canadian capital, facilitated by the state, is searching out new spaces of accumulation in Canada and abroad, particularly in Latin America, and Indigenous land and labour are crucial to its success. Instead of defending Canadian sovereignty, the Left must respond by developing a sharp anti-imperialist analysis of Canada’s role in the global economy. This article will draw on the policies and strategies of Canada’s mining industry, which is a powerful actor at home and abroad, as one important example of the imperialist dynamics it is tracing.
Highlights
As the United States occupies Iraq, threatens the likes of Iran, Syria and North Korea with invasion, and increases its rhetoric against left-leaning South American politicians, it has become an increasing focus of anti-imperialist analysis and organizing
In the last two decades, foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased at a phenomenal pace, growing by over 200 percent from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s alone, and in the age of neoliberal globalization FDI has increasingly involved fixed investments in factories, mines, natural resources, communication systems, and services, 5 More detailed analysis of the reorganization of global capitalism can be found in Harvey (2003), Gowan (1999), and Bonefeld (1993)
Canada is much more than a rich dependency or mere subordinate nation overrun by foreign capital, whose influence on the global order is negligible if not benign
Summary
Résumé Le présent article avance que le Canada est une puissance impériale dans l’ordre mondial, fait dont ne tiennent pas assez compte les notions du Canada comme une riche dépendance ni les arguments requérant un projet visant à défendre la souveraineté du pays. Au cœur du projet d’État canadien, tant par le passé que dans ses manifestations contemporaines, existe un programme d’accumulation par dépossession dont les nations indigènes sont une cible privilégiée. À l’heure du néolibéralisme, le capital canadien cherche, avec l’appui de l’État, de nouveaux espaces d’accumulation, tant au pays qu’à l’étranger, notamment en Amérique latine – processus où les terres indigènes et la main d’œuvre représentent des atouts clés. Au lieu de défendre la souveraineté canadienne, la gauche doit élaborer une analyse résolument anti-impérialiste du rôle du Canada dans l’économie mondiale. Pour illustrer les dynamiques impérialistes qu’il cerne, l’article s’appuie sur un exemple particulièrement important : celui des politiques et des stratégies de l’industrie minière canadienne
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
