Living and Working in Mexico as a Canadian: Not so Difficult as One Would Think

Abstract

Living and working abroad has had a significant impact on my teaching and research on Canadian foreign policy in North America. Ironically, working in Mexico has provided better access to Canadian, United States, and Mexican foreign policymakers as they see me as a channel to voice their concerns on North American cooperation. Often, I will be invited to a workshop in Mexico to speak about Canada, while on other occasions, I will be invited to Canada to speak about Mexico. I am much more aware of the positions of all three North American countries and why they have these positions. With specific reference to Canada and the actual content of its foreign policy, I have come to see that Canadian foreign policy is strikingly more “realist” than what I was taught in Canada in Canadian foreign policy courses, showing how externality provides new insights into Canada.