Foreign Voices in the House: A Century of Addresses to Canada’s Parliament by World Leaders

Unique views from Winston Churchill, Indira Ghandi, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Françoise Hollande, and other diverse leaders reveal how foreigners see Canada and Canadians.

During the Second World War, foreign leaders like Winston Churchill began addressing Canadians in our House of Commons, and in so doing, they left their mark on how we thought about our role in global affairs.

In the decades since, a succession of world figures has delivered urgent messages about Canada’s importance to the United Nations, Cold War security, decolonization and modernization efforts, advancing human rights, environmental conservation, and combating terrorism.

Each foreign leader who addressed Canada sought to forge new partnerships between their country and ours in a rapidly evolving global context. Over seven decades their speeches chart the stunning transformation of international affairs and Canada’s place in the world.

No other source provides a complete record of this body of high-level oratory, gathered here for the first time in Foreign Voices in the House.