Canada goes global: building transnational relations between Canada and the world, 1968-2017

While theorists of global civil society champion the rise of non-state actors and their role in changing global systems, Canadian foreign policy scholarship regularly minimizes the role of civil society in influencing the international activities of the Canadian state. Drawing on international relations scholarship regarding the relationship between globalization and transnational civil society relationships, this article provides an overview of the growing role of Canadian civil society actors in the process of foreign policy decision-making since 1968. The article focuses on three policy areas - trade, security and development policy - and argues that while civil society actors' influence has varied across administration and policy areas, there is a general pattern of increased government-civil society interaction and of transnationalization of Canadian civil society actors over this time period.