Oil, Mercantilism, and the Return of Gunboat Economics

In the first piece of our Now You’re Thinking series on the US involvement in Venezuela, we examine how the ouster of Venezuela’s president marks the return of mercantilism as a geopolitical practice, with oil and trade control once again central to power. Echoing early modern gunboat economics, force is being deployed to secure resources and trade flows. For Canada, deeply embedded within the US strategic perimeter, this shift raises urgent questions about sovereignty, industrial strategy, and the risks of clinging to outdated economic frameworks.