Corporate Social Responsibility in Canadian Foreign Policy: A Case of Corporate Capture of the State

Abstract

In 2009, the Canadian government launched a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy aimed at Canadian companies in the extractive sector with operations abroad. Based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the strategy, currently in effect, uses the National Contact Point office while it also created the figure of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise. Additionally, through economic diplomacy, the CSR strategy leverages the diplomatic and economic resources of Canadian development aid to promote Canadian companies abroad, particularly in the extractive sector. Through a critical analysis, the article demonstrates how lobbying and revolving doors make the CSR strategy in Canadian foreign policy a case of corporate capture of the state, while also raising key questions for critically examining the relationship between corporations and the state.