Imperialist Canada

by Todd Gordon

Imperialist Canada exposes Canada's imperialist past and present, at home and across the globe. Todd Gordon interweaves histories of indigenous dispossession in Canada with the cold facts of Canadian capital's oppression of peoples in the global South. The book digs beneath the surface of Canada's image as global peacekeeper and promoter of human rights, revealing the links between the corporate pursuit of profit and Canadian foreign and domestic policy. Drawing on examples from Colombia, the Congo, Sudan, Haiti and elsewhere, Imperialist Canada makes a passionate plea for greater critical attention to Canada's role in the global order.

Genres: Canada, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Political Science

432 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2010

Reviews

[Ajay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely has a book contained so much incredibly interesting information that I had no idea I was about to encounter upon picking the book from the shelf. Todd Gordon's Imperialist Canada reads an expose of Canada's dastardly role in the unfolding of the New World Order. Yet, in the process Todd takes no easy outs, fully exploring and explaining the complex system of systematic disadvantage and oppression that many of us take for granted as "the way the world works". On the conflict between Canada's corporations and the indigenous First Nations, I have never seen read such a detail analysis. A astute capture of all the actions of Canada's major companies in the last few decades, reveal not only a few less respectable moments, but also a pervasive theme of abuse and imperial attitudes. The real shocking pieces of the book are Todd's thorough explanation of the greater nature of imperialism and his humanization of the forces / motivations that drive it. I picked up this book a dispassionate reader, and set it down an aspiring activist.

[Bano · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not against an anti-capitalist framework, and have thoroughly enjoyed anti-capitalist books on similar topics, but I picked up this book to learn about examples of Canadian foreign policy not rigid Marxist anti-capitalist dogma disguised as a study of imperialism.

I notice a pattern among leftists to frame imperialism (and even war and genocide), as synonymous with capitalism. I find it incredibly disingenuous because philosophically and historically, these atrocities have been committed under virtually every type of regime, capitalist or not, (common rebuttal to this is that it was only under “self defence” which reads similar to “bringing democracy to the third world”).

Imperialism is not unique to capitalism. The USSR conquered the Baltic states and dominated Eastern Europe, Maoist China occupied Tibet, and countless non-capitalist empires, from Rome to the Mongols, imposed rule and slavery. These examples show that imperialism stems from power and domination, not a specific economic system.

Every page in this book ties everything back to the “evil of capitalism” and makes this incredibly difficult to read.

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half.

The argument of this book is excellent. I think it did a really good job at showing how Canada's domestic colonialism and exploitation of indigenous lands and resources is directly connected to its actions abroad. BUT IMO the neoliberalism 101 lesson at the beginning just stated the obvious and unnecessarily slowed the book down when the examples provided later on speak for themselves. I ended up skimming the first chapter and overall I think he could have been more concise about explaining other ideas.

[Scott Neigh]

Reviewed here.