Abstract
Canadian water export is an important, yet not an autonomous, policy in its own right that would justify direct governmental intervention. Water export policy should be understood as a by‐product of larger and more imperative national governmental agendas such as the institutionalization of neoliberal projects, perceived national security concerns, and Canadian federal–provincial relations. Consideration of these agendas as primary movers and shapers of water export policy in Canada helps to fill in contextual gaps and bring into play a broader spectrum of evidence. Further, this approach may refine our understanding of the phenomenon and show that an explanation for the emergence of the policy problem under investigation could be found in the policies surrounding it.