Welcome to Latin-Watch/Canada, English-Canada's eye on Latin America.
LWC's mandate is to analyse and report on the growing bilateral relationship between Canada and Latin America with a focus on Canada-Mexico issues. The Senior Editor is Garreth Westwood, a British analyst that has worked in both North America and Mexico and also blogs at GarrethWestwood.com as the 'one-man bridge between the Anglo- and the Ibero-spheres.'
Canada and Canadian business are naturally focused on the United States and Europe for trade & business development issues. This reflects both Canada's geographic proximity to the US as well as her shared Anglosphere citizenship with America. While Canada became a full member of the Organization of American States in 1990, the relationship with the rest of the continent was not a priority for Government nor Business. NAFTA changed this. In 1994, the Free Trade Agreement between the sister nations of the United States and Canada, "children of a common mother", was expanded into NAFTA to include neighbouring yet alien Mexico.
As a result, Canada and Canadian business are starting to think continentally, to see opportunities beyond the Rio Grande, and to build a new bilateral tradition. Of course, Anglo-American identity--the shared North American citizenship that Americans and Canadians hold--will remain the geopolitical priority. Moreover, it would be a mistake for nationalist elements to see the Latin American relationship as a sign that Canada is becoming part of some non-aligned bloc.
For Canada to make sense of the growing relationship with Mexico and Latin America, she needs to grasp that this relationship is based on two geopolitical spheres interacting---'two solitudes' to borrow from Hugh McLennan---rather than the development of a new pan-american culture.
The consolidation of democracy and the growth of free markets have transformed the Americas since Canada joined the OAS 15 years ago. At the same time, Canada's relations with Latin America have developed in new and constructive ways. Canada has diversified and deepened relations with her neighbours and has been changed in the process, forging new alliances and making new commitments.
Canada's engagement with other countries of the Americas has brought a significant new dimension and perspective to her worldview—a growing realization that this geopolitical bloc is becoming an important theater of Canadian foreign policy and a window of opportunity for Canadian business.
Senior Editor: Garreth Westwood | BNA Consulting
