Canada’s role in Haiti, shaped by both its substantial Haitian diaspora community — centered in Montreal but present in cities across the country — and its longstanding development and diplomatic engagement with the country, came into sharp focus in 2019 as the political crisis deepened and the diaspora community in Canada mobilized to advocate for their homeland.
Montreal’s Haitian community, one of the largest and most organized outside Haiti itself, was a powerful voice in Canadian public debate about the crisis. Community organizations, Haitian-Canadian politicians, and media figures pushed for stronger Canadian diplomatic action to support a democratic resolution to the crisis and the protection of human rights.
The Canadian government maintained active diplomatic engagement with Haiti through its embassy in Port-au-Prince and within the Core Group framework. Canada was also one of the largest donors to Haitian development and humanitarian programs, a relationship that gave it leverage but also responsibilities.
Haitian-Canadian voices were divided on questions of how Canada should use its influence. Some called for stronger conditionality in aid and diplomatic pressure, arguing that past international permissiveness had enabled the kind of corruption that produced the PetroCaribe scandal. Others were wary of paternalistic interventions that undermined Haitian sovereignty and agency.