Canada’s Role over Time in Investor-State Dispute Settlement

Canada’s role in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) globally has been, and continues to be, that of both system architect and system participant. The North American Free Trade Agreement ’s investment chapter and the investor-state disputes that were ventilated within its framework — particularly those involving Canada as a disputing party — have inspired and shaped other ISDS mechanisms. This article examines how Canada has contributed to a progressive rebalancing of protections for foreign investors and foreign investment through a historical review of Canada’s bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and multilateral trade treaties containing investment protection chapters where Canada is a state party and Canada’s participation as a disputing party in investor-state disputes that have provided definitional clarity with respect to many host state obligations towards foreign investors and their investments under BITs and investment chapters in multilateral treaties.