Boxing with Elephants: Can Canada Punch above Its Weight in Global Financial Governance?

CIGI Paper No. 28

March 20, 2014

Canadians have long harboured a desire to “punch above their weight” in international diplomacy, an aspiration justified by Canada’s position in the world both geographically and culturally. This paper examines one aspect of that effort: Canada’s role in international financial governance, particularly within the International Monetary Fund. The key issue for the future is whether Canada will continue to have the capacity and the will to take leading positions and actions in the face of increasing competition from the rapidly growing emerging market countries.

About the Author

James M. Boughton is a CIGI senior fellow. James’s research focuses on the evolution of Canada’s role in international governance since the 1940s and the potential for further evolution in the near future.