At the close of the Commonwealth summit in Uganda on Sunday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper rejected stories that Canada had been a holdout on aggressive action on climate change.
"I have seen reports that Canada was isolated on this position," Harper said to journalists. "That's not remotely true."
Harper claimed that, on a range of issues, Canada was a consensus-builder.
"For the first time in a very long time, Canada's voice is being heard and the consequence of our voice being heard is we're getting the changes we want to see," he said.
Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon says that, although that may be the case for Canada, it isn't as much for smaller countries, such as Tuvalu, Maldives and Singapore.
"For three countries, maybe four, it is survival," said McKinnon. "Survival that your country will still be there."
Small states that say rising sea levels caused by global warming could drown their islands within a decade had been pushing Canada farther than Harper wanted to go.
Harper helped block a deal that would have excluded developing countries from binding targets on greenhouse gas emissions. The amended declaration states that all countries have a responsibility to reduce emissions.
At a news conference, Harper said that the 53-country summit has delivered a substantive deal that will set the stage for the United Nations climate talks next month in Indonesia.
"If we're all to believe that climate change is a major problem caused by greenhouse gas emissions, then we have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Harper said. "And the only way we can do that, is if all major emitters reduce their emissions. It's that simple. So we're not going to settle for anything less."
On other issues, like suspending Pakistan from the Commonwealth, Canada led a strong consensus.
"A difficult decision, but one which we have done while emphasizing our desire to help Pakistan back on the path of democracy," Harper said.
When it came to trade, there was no agreement. Developed countries like Canada were determined to protect agricultural subsidies paid to their farmers, which developing countries say are hurting their people, who are among the poorest of the world's farmers.
But Harper says "like all countries that are there, we are there to promote and protect our own interests."
While at the summit, Harper had a one-on-one discussion with India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh. The two talked about Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Singh accepted an invitation by Harper for an as-yet-unscheduled visit to Canada.
With report by CTV's David Akin
