Canadian mining in Latin America and the Caribbean began in the 20th century. Latin America and the Caribbean's vast resources give the region great geopolitical importance, attracting foreign interest for centuries.^[1] From the colonial race of European empires, to the multinationals of today's neoliberal capitalist world, this region continues to draw interest.^[1] Canada's involvement in Latin America increased dramatically since 1989 with several landmark negotiations and agreements.^[2] By 2009, the Canadian larger-company mineral exploration market in this region was valued at US$1.7 billion.^[3]

Currently, Latin America and the Caribbean are dominated by Canadian companies falling from a 49% to 32% held control over the larger-company mineral exploration market after the global recession of 2008.^[3] The Canadian share of the market is roughly US$59 million more than the amount domestic companies planned to spend in this region.^[3] Both Mexico and Chile have the most intense focus of Canadian mining companies; however, their interest and involvement in other Latin American countries is prevalent.^[3]

The Canadian governments involvement and the penetration of Canadian capital in the region reflected the neoliberal movement of the 1980s and 1990s.^[1] Much of the Latin American economy was dominated by World Bank and IMF forced policies during the debt crisis of the early 1980s.^[1] The late 1990s began a shift in political thought in the region moving towards support for more populist, left and centre-left governments, particularly by peasants.^[1] Mercosur, an economic agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay along with associate members Chile and Bolivia in 1994 want to improve development through protecting the free movement of goods between these countries.^[5] Such policies as establishing a common external tariff and a common trade policy promote an infant industry argument.^[5] The relaunching of Mercosur in the mid 2000s can be seen as a new form of regionalist governance in the Southern Cone.^[5] Canada has become at the centre of this conflict and has received much criticism by anti-imperialist struggles protesting for local control over privatized natural resources.^[6][7]

Recently, with the Conservative government of Canada, a dramatic shift in foreign aid has occurred towards middle-income countries in Latin America, causing the abandonment of many projects in Africa. Once again, the Conservative government has come under scrutiny for its Foreign Aid Policy as the Canadian International Development Agency has established foreign-aid pilot projects in South America with large mining corporations, to foster economic growth and international trade in Canada. Since the Conservatives came to power in 2006, over $50 million in projects have been approved and many more are under way. NGOs and mining industry critics have been accusing the Conservative government for subsidizing phony "corporate social responsibility" projects that are led by profitable companies with bad intentions. Jamie Kneen of MiningWatch Canada said that "the government is helping the mining industry to put a positive spin on their operations, despite their negative environmental and human-rights records". In contrast, the president of the Canadian Mining Association Pierre Gratton believes "these projects help improve the image of the industry ... because they are meaningful and have value. This is not just PR."^[8]

The expansion of Canadian mining companies in Latin America and the Caribbean during the 1990s was never paralleled with official Canadian legislation on standards abroad, which has caused much debate on socio-economic change and conflict to numerous rural and indigenous communities.^[9] Traditional production methods are often destroyed, and in regions such as Chile, areas with mining activities have the greatest unemployment and poverty rates in the country.^[9] Mining can have adverse effects on non-mineral production, such as agriculture when Canadian mining production leads to soil erosion, such as the case in La Libertad, Colombia.^[9] In addition, reports of the spills of harmful chemicals, such as cyanide in local water supplies has increased deaths of livestock and skin disorders and infection among children.^[10] Increased social disorganization with violent protests, criminal activities and even deaths and group rape have been suspected to be caused by the involvement of some Canadian mining companies.^[11][12][13] Increased assassinations of activists have shown the political conflicts and related corruption as divisions between anti and pro-mining groups escalate.^[6][7]

The Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act, also known as Bill C-300, was defeated in a vote of 140 to 134 in the House of Commons of Canada in October 2010.^[37] The Summary of the bill states:

The purpose of this enactment is to promote environmental best practices and to ensure the protection and promotion of international human rights standards in respect of the mining, oil or gas activities of Canadian corporations in developing countries. It also gives the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of International Trade the responsibility to issue guidelines that articulate corporate accountability standards for mining, oil or gas activities and it requires the Ministers to submit an annual report to both Houses of Parliament on the provisions and operation of this Act."^[38]

Mining companies were extremely opposed to the legislation and believed the bill would cost jobs.^[37][39] For example, a mining executive complained that the bill assumed "Canadian mining companies are bad corporate citizens".^[37] He insisted that this "could not be further from the truth". An article written by faculty of law professors from both the University of Toronto and Ottawa in the Canadian Globe and Mail argued if standards are being met then the extreme opposition towards Bill C-311 should not have occurred by mining companies.^[37]

In March 2011, Greenpeace Argentina led a campaign against Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold in its attempts to block the application of a new law to protect glaciers passed by parliament in Argentina.^[16][40] The law prohibits any poor environmental standards which would damage and contaminate glaciers.^[16][40]

David Harvey's idea of accumulation by dispossession is a framework used by some sociologists, economists, and geographers to understand the activities of Canadian mining companies in Latin America.^[1][41] This idea views that western countries use neoliberal capitalist policies to ensure their wealth and influence by dispossessing the public of their wealth or land.^[1] This concept sees the constant need to pursue accumulation of wealth to ensure the current economic model as harmful to the environment and societies.^[1]

• Canadian Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Mining Companies of Canada