Canada, nice or not?

Canada is often seen as a ‘middle power’ that supports multilateralism and peaceful conflict resolution. Although generally aligned with the United States, Canada has at times diverged, as in its approach to Central American unrest in the 1980s and 1990s, which it framed as a North–South issue – unlike the US’s Cold War lens. By the 1990s, however, Canada adopted a more assertive, market-oriented foreign policy, emphasizing access for exports and investment, especially in the extractive sector. This shift contributed to Canadian support for the 2009 military coup in Honduras and closer ties with companies accused of human rights violations. Critics have described Canada’s regional stance as imperialist or ‘extractivist–imperialist’. This article argues instead that Canada functions as a ‘sub-imperialist’ power, operating within US hegemony in the Americas. While pursuing its own economic interests with limited autonomy, Canada cooperates with US objectives, creating a dynamic of tension within overarching alignment.