The Canadian Left must adopt a fully anti-imperialist platform to make decoupling from U.S. hegemony possible. Prime Minister Carney’s “middle-power” foreign policy approach is a means of continuing Canada’s role as a beneficiary of the current imperialist world order, which means that the NDP must fulfill its role as the Left-opposition party and shift itself firmly into the anti-imperialist camp.

At the international level, this means making substantive overtures to countries which have been victimized by imperialism as to both learn and show solidarity in the face of U.S. aggression. Cuba, our hemispheric neighbour, should be supported against the U.S. during their time of need. The NDP has consistently been a voice of reason on Cuba in Parliament calling for humanitarian aid and a condemnation of “superpower intimidation” against Cuba.

However, support beyond electoral politics is needed to prove sincerity and to bolster anti-imperialist currents within the party and within Canada. It is necessary that a mission be organized to Cuba to learn and show solidarity against U.S. aggression.

Aggression intensified beginning with the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker bound for Cuba by the United States in December 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump’s government has turned its embargo on the Latin American country into, effectively, an oil blockade.

On January 28, President Trump signed an executive order threatening tariffs on any nation which sells oil directly or indirectly to Cuba. Since then, fuel imports have dropped by nearly 90 per cent, triggering blackouts across the island lasting up to 20 hours.

Countries previously relied upon by Cuba for oil imports, like Venezuela and Mexico, have stopped selling oil to the island under threat of U.S. tariffs.

U.S. aggression has not just been economic, with Cuban authorities reporting that Cuban soldiers had been shot at by ten Americans on a speedboat approaching Cuban territory. In the ensuing shootout, five of the American aggressors died with no casualties being reported on the Cuban side. Just five days ago, President Trump stated that the Cuban government “is going to fall pretty soon.”

The United States’ open intent has been to cripple the Cuban government’s ability to provide for its citizens. Trump has openly talked of Cuban regime change multiple times, and it has been a longstanding goal of U.S. foreign policy since the Cuban Revolution to overthrow the Cuban government.

To this end, the United States armed, funded, and trained anti-Communist Cuban militants, attempted to assassinate revolutionary leaders such as Fidel Castro (himself surviving 600 attempts), and successfully, via the embargo, restricted Cuba’s ability to industrialise and secure basic goods for itself. All to restore the privileges American companies enjoyed under the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and under previous Cuban governments. President Trump’s actions thus do not exist in a vacuum and should be read as a continuance of a decades-long campaign against Cuba.

With this current intensification of the embargo, Cuba has had to endure blackouts and energy shortages which endangers their ability to maintain vital infrastructure. With Chinese aid, Cuba in the year, began investing heavily in a transition to solar energy — increasing from 5.8 per cent to over 20 per cent of total power generation.

China assisted with the financing of these projects, and donated vital equipment. The speed at which Cuba is undergoing its green transition is remarkable, with some facilities achieving grid connection within 35 days of equipment arriving.

This decoupling from oil-dependence allows Cuba to endure U.S. imperialism with much greater effect, all the while maintaining its social services and doing wonders for the environment.

Mexico, to aid the Cuban government, has sent two military vessels with 814 tonnes of humanitarian aid. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum previously said no oil would be sent to Cuba, but on February 24, Sheinbaum announced Mexico’s was considering resuming oil shipments after the recent U.S. Supreme Court against Trump’s tariff policy.

Canada has only pledged a pittance of what is actually required to alleviate the crisis on the island, $8 million. While I do not wish to downplay this aid, throwing money at countries destabilised by imperialism is not a substitute for anti-imperialist action. Especially when the Liberal government did not condemn the illegal U.S. kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro, an action which has directly led to Cuba’s current situation.

If Carney’s government were serious about acting according to the principles espoused at Davos, they’d have supported Cuba through both short-term humanitarian aid and through cultivating long-term strategic partnerships. Canada has not contributed enough materially to provide short-term relief to the Cuban people, nor has it worked towards partnering with Cuba long-term to fortify both countries against U.S. economic warfare.

It is this combination of inaction which makes Canadian aid little more than a facade to save face with the Canadian public, who are done being America’s junior-partner.

Thankfully, NDP interim Leader Don Davies has been a voice of reason in parliament. He’s stated the need to “support Cuba in the face of aggressive U.S. imperialism.”

In response, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand voiced that the Liberal government is “deeply concerned by the deteriorating conditions in Cuba,” but these statements are further examples of the empty humanitarian rhetoric of the Liberal Party. It is just another reminder that Prime Minister Carney’s speech at Davos served more for soundbites than it did in furthering any substantive policy changes.

It is little surprise this is the case; Cuba failing would be nothing but good for the “middle-power” foreign policy of Prime Minister Carney.

Rather than make any change to the imperialist world order, the Liberal government seeks to maintain Canada’s position within it. Carney voiced that Maduro’s kidnapping was “welcome news,” he placed blame upon Iran for being victimized by the United States and Israel, and he chose inaction on the developing crisis in Cuba for all the same reasons: these states, regardless of your opinion on them, maintain control over their resources and by doing so cannot be plundered by the imperialists.

Since Carney’s wish for this system is not abolition but continued participation, his government will not take any firm anti-imperialist action.

The threats from Trump against Canadian sovereignty and from the United States are very real, and of very great concern. U.S. power is at its peak and now more than ever must we pursue alternative solutions if we are to break from our dependence on America.

This means building a new Left based on anti-imperialism. Without doing that, power will continue to coalesce around the far-Right. This requires solidarity with anti-imperialist movements that is not present in the upper echelons of the NDP today.

I am hopeful, with the comments from Interim Leader Don Davies and some of the Federal Leadership candidates, that the party might be receptive to this. But we need actions, not words. Today, the NDP should make overtures to Cuba in a show of solidarity. Of utmost concern would be organizing Canadian aid to Cuba in their time of need, through both parliamentary and other non-institutional channels. The NDP could be the lead in shifting Canadian foreign policy to be based on solidarity — one altogether stronger than any on the basis of plunder and racketeering.