Canada, Empire and Indigenous People in the Americas

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.

Reconsidering the Underground Railroad: Slavery and Racialization in the Making of the Canadian State

“…A growing school of thought has challenged the historically dominant analysis in Canadian political economy that places the state broadly in the framework of a 'dependency' or weak state relative to the United States (Kellogg, 2004;Engler and Fenton, 2005;Gordon, 2006;Burgess, 2002;Carroll, 986;Moore and Wells, 975;McNally, 1981). Alternatively, the Canadian state has been identified as a sovereign, advanced capitalist power, with an expansionist and imperialist dynamic.…”

Diamond Mining in Canada's Northwest Territories: A Colonial Continuity

“…Caine and Nicole Krogman (2010) provide a power analysis of IBAs offering many examples of the restrictions imposed on negotiations, limiting the playing field to an unequal capitalist interaction; as just one example, confidentiality clauses were imposed, which restricted knowledge of the content of IBAs to anyone outside of the negotiation process, making meaningful community participation impossible. 9 Todd Gordon (2006) makes this point, linking Canada's imperial project of dispossession both inside and outside its borders. 10 This paper is not attempting to frame the GNWT simply as an arm of the Federal government, as a voice for local northern populations or as a mediator between the two.…”

“…9 9 Todd Gordon (2006) makes this point, linking Canada's imperial project of dispossession both inside and outside its borders. …”

A Historical Institutionalist Understanding of Participatory Governance and Aboriginal Peoples: The Case of Policy Change in Ontario's Mining Sector*

“…Notable exceptions include Abele (), Hessing, Howlett, and Summerville (), Gordon (), McAllister (), and Slowey ().…”

“…2 Notable exceptions include Abele (1997), Hessing, Howlett, and Summerville (2005), Gordon (2006), McAllister (2007), and Slowey (2008). 3 For example, 36 percent of Aboriginal communities are situated less than 50 kilometers from one of the primary mines developed in Canada (Hipwell et al, 2002:4).…”