canada first, not canada alone: a history of canadian foreign policy

Three recent Canadian prime ministers, Paul Martin, Stephen Harper, and Justin Trudeau made the same claim shortly after forming a government: ＂Canada is Back.＂ Martin promised to reinvest in world affairs. Harper was focused on the military. Trudeau meant more involvement at the UN. Each leader made foreign policy a part of their political brand because they recognized that in today’s world, domestic and international politics are interconnected. Canada can no longer take care of its own interests if it ignores the world around it.

This book traces the history of Canadian foreign policy from a time when positioning Canada First meant shunning international obligations to today. It highlights key decisions taken and not taken in Ottawa that have shaped Canadians’ safety, security, and prosperity over the last one hundred years. Case studies focused on environmental reform, Indigenous peoples, trade, hostage diplomacy, and wartime strategy illustrate the breadth of issues that shape contemporary Canada’s global realm.

Together, these cases reveal a country that has benefited from diplomatic prudence and compromise even as its citizens have yearned for their elected officials to be world leaders. This book argues that, like any country, Canada must look out for its own interests first, but in the modern world it can’t do so effectively without cooperating with other states and non-state actors.

Written by two of Canada’s leading foreign policy analysts, Canada First, Not Canada Alone is the definitive history of Canadian foreign policy since the 1930s.

Adam Chapnick is Professor of Defence Studies at the Canadian Forces College and the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). He is the award-winning author of Canada on the United Nations Security Council: A Small Power on a Large Stage, among other titles, and a former editor of International Journal.

Asa McKercher is Assistant Professor of History at the Royal Military College of Canada. He is the author of include Canada and the World since 1867 (Bloomsbury, 2019) and Camelot and Canada: Canadian-American Relations in the Kennedy Era (OUP, 2016). He is theEditor-in-Chief of International Journal.