In the Lancet Series on Canada’s global health role (April 28, p 1736), Stephanie A Nixon and colleagues perpetuate liberal myths about Canadian nation-building and foreign policy, proffering an uncritical historical assessment of the country’s global health involvement. Particularly egregious is the argument that Canada needs to return to the imagined post-war glory days, when core values of health equity and diversity purportedly directed foreign policy. The authors ignore the fact that global health policy has long been compelled by political–economic imperatives that prioritise commercial interests, such as the 1950 Colombo Plan. By highlighting Canada’s largely biomedical global health contributions, the Nixon and colleagues also negate a 21st century health axiom: health is profoundly determined by sociopolitical and environmental structures.