History of Canadian foreign policy facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Canada's foreign policy, which is how it deals with other countries, was mostly controlled by Britain until the 1900s. This included fighting wars with the United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Even though Canada and the U.S. have always been close economically, there were political disagreements in the 1800s and early 1900s, especially over borders like Maine and Alaska. Today, they still discuss the Arctic. Overall, Canada and the U.S. have been good friends in recent times.

Canada also took part in Britain's wars, like the Boer War and both World Wars. However, during World War I, there were big disagreements between French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians. Canada got its own spot in the League of Nations but didn't play a huge role in world affairs until the 1940s. Since then, Canada has been very active in groups like NATO and the United Nations, working to be an important "middle power" on the world stage.

History of Canada's Global Connections
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History of Canada's Global Connections

Early Days: Before 1867

Before 1867, the British colonies that became Canada didn't control their own foreign affairs. British governors handled talks about things like encouraging people to move to Canada, settling local problems, and promoting trade.

Working with the United States

The American Revolution

The Treaty of Paris in 1783 officially ended the American Revolutionary War. Britain gave some land to the United States that used to be part of the Province of Quebec. This land included areas that are now Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. The new border between Canada and the U.S. was set along the Great Lakes. The U.S. also gained fishing rights in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and near Newfoundland.

Britain didn't fully follow the treaty at first. They kept military outposts in the Great Lakes area and continued to give supplies to their Native American allies. This made the Americans upset. Britain finally left these outposts after the Jay Treaty in 1795.

Other Interactions

During the colonial period, there were other important agreements and events. These included the War of 1812 and treaties like the Rush–Bagot Treaty and the Oregon Treaty. Before Canada gained "responsible government" (meaning its own elected officials could make decisions), British diplomats handled foreign affairs. Their main goal was to keep peace with the United States, and Canadian interests came second.

A big change happened with the Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1854. This allowed Canada to set its own trade taxes (tariffs) that were more favorable to the U.S. than to Britain. This was a new step towards Canada controlling its own trade.

Later, Irish activists called Fenians, who were based in the United States, launched small attacks into Canada between 1866 and 1871. All these attacks were quickly stopped. One reason Canada decided to become a country (Confederation) was a fear that the U.S. might try to take over Canada after the American Civil War.

A New Nation: 1867-1914

After Canadian Confederation in 1867, Canada started to have its own representatives in other countries. The first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, sent Sir John Rose to represent Canada in London. Later, Canada sent George Brown to Washington for trade talks.

In 1880, Alexander Galt became Canada's first High Commissioner in London, which was a formal title for a Canadian diplomat. Canada also appointed a trade representative to Australia in 1894. Even though Canada was starting to have its own diplomats, British ambassadors still had to sign some agreements, like one with France in 1893.

Canada's involvement in international events was limited at this time. For example, during tensions between Britain and Russia in 1878, Canada only built a few small defenses. However, by the time of the British campaign in Sudan in 1884–85, Britain expected Canada to send troops. Canada's government didn't want to get involved, so the Governor General of Canada privately gathered 386 voyageurs (skilled travelers) to help the British.

Canada took a strong interest in the Second Boer War (1899–1902) in South Africa. Many English-speaking Canadians supported the war and volunteered to fight. They saw it as a way to show Canadian identity while staying connected to Britain. However, many French Canadians and other groups did not support the war.

The Alaska boundary dispute became a big issue in the late 1890s when gold was found in Canada's Yukon. Alaska controlled all the possible ports to get to the gold fields. Canada argued that the port of Skagway was theirs. In 1903, the dispute went to a special group for a decision. The British delegate sided with the Americans, which made many Canadians angry. They felt Britain had put its own interests with the U.S. ahead of Canada's.

In 1909, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier reluctantly created the Department of External Affairs to handle Canada's foreign relations. This was largely because the British ambassador in Washington said that three-quarters of his time was spent on Canadian-American issues.

Laurier also tried to sign a trade agreement with the U.S. that would lower taxes on goods (tariffs) for both countries. But the Conservative Party, led by Robert Borden, argued that this would make Canada's economy too dependent on the U.S. and weaken ties with Britain. The Conservatives won the 1911 Canadian federal election because of this issue.

World Wars and In-Between: 1914-1929

The First World War

Civilians cheering as soldiers leave Toronto by train in August 1914, at the start of World War I.

Canada's involvement in the First World War helped build a sense of Canadian identity. The war was very costly for Canada, with 67,000 soldiers killed and 173,000 wounded.

During 1914-1916, many British Canadians were annoyed that the U.S. stayed neutral and seemed to profit while Canada was sacrificing so much. However, when the U.S. finally joined the war in April 1917, Canada and the U.S. worked together quickly and friendly. They shared resources like grain and fuel, and Canadian recruiting teams were welcomed in the U.S.

Supporting Britain led to a major political crisis over conscription (forcing people to join the military). Many French-speaking Canadians, especially in Quebec, did not support this policy. Also, during the war, about 8,000 immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire were considered "enemy aliens" and were held in camps.

The Liberal Party was deeply divided over conscription. Many of its English-speaking leaders joined the government led by Prime Minister Robert Borden. After the war, the Liberals regained power under William Lyon Mackenzie King, who became prime minister for many years between 1921 and 1949.

Because of Canada's big contributions to the war, Prime Minister Robert Borden got London's agreement that Canada could sign the Treaty of Versailles as a separate country.

The 1920s

After World War I, Canada had two main ideas for its foreign policy. The Conservative Party wanted to stay very close to Britain. But the Liberal Party, led by Mackenzie King, wanted Canada to be more independent and focus on its own interests. King worked closely with his foreign affairs expert, Oscar D. Skelton, to achieve this.

In 1920, Canada became a founding member of the League of Nations and was a full member, acting independently from London. It was even elected to the League Council in 1927. However, Canada didn't play a leading role and usually opposed military action by the League. Like the United States, Canada mostly avoided international politics during this time.

King focused on good relations with the United States and more independence from Britain. For example, in 1922, King refused to support Britain during the Chanak Crisis, when Turkey attacked the Greeks.

In 1923, Canada signed its first treaty, the Halibut Treaty with the U.S., without Britain also signing it. This was a big step for Canada's independence. Canada also started setting up its own embassies in other countries, like Washington (1926), Paris (1928), and Tokyo (1929). Canada officially gained legislative independence with the Statute of Westminster in 1931.

The 1930s

Canada was hit hard by the Great Depression in 1929, which was made worse by economic problems in the U.S. Trade dropped, and unemployment soared. Canada's economy shrank a lot. Because of these problems, Canadians were mostly focused on issues at home.

Canada chose to stay neutral throughout the 1930s. Events like Japan's invasion of Manchuria and Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany didn't cause much concern in Canada.

When the Spanish Civil War started in 1936, Canada declared itself neutral. However, the Communist Party of Canada encouraged young men to volunteer to fight for the Spanish Republic. Despite a law against Canadians fighting in foreign wars, 1,546 Canadians joined, mostly in the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion. About 721 of them were killed. Canada sent a higher percentage of its population as volunteers to Spain than almost any other country.

Even though Canada said it was neutral, it started a small rearmament program in 1936. In 1937, Prime Minister King told Britain that Canada would support it if a war broke out in Europe. King even visited Germany in June 1937 and met with Adolf Hitler. Like many leaders at the time, King was fooled by Hitler's charm and supported the policy of "appeasement" (trying to avoid war by giving in to demands). King and other leaders remained quiet when Hitler took over Austria in 1938 and parts of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

As anti-Semitism grew in Germany and Jewish refugees started arriving, Canada began to limit Jewish immigration by 1938. Between 1933 and 1939, Canada accepted only 4,000 of the 800,000 Jews who had escaped from Nazi-controlled Europe.

World War II

In 1939, the King government stopped supporting appeasement and publicly said it would support Britain if war came. After World War II started in September 1939, Canada quickly opened more diplomatic offices abroad. Canada hosted two major Allied conferences in Quebec in 1943 and 1944. However, Prime Minister Mackenzie King and Canadian military leaders were not invited to take part in any of the important discussions.

Sadly, false rumors about Japanese spies and saboteurs, along with existing prejudice against Japanese Canadians, led to the internment of 21,000 Japanese Canadians in camps in British Columbia.

After the War: 1945 to 1957

After World War II, Canada's foreign policy began to shift away from the old British Empire approach and closer to the modern style of the United States. Canada lent and gave over $2 billion to Britain to help it rebuild. Canada was elected to the United Nations Security Council and helped create NATO.

However, Mackenzie King did not support free trade with the United States and chose not to participate in the Berlin airlift. Canada played a modest role in forming the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. It had a somewhat larger role in creating the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947.

Ties with Great Britain slowly weakened, especially in 1956. That year, Canada refused to support the British and French invasion of Egypt to take control of the Suez Canal. Lester B. Pearson, Canada's Minister of External Affairs (foreign minister), won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to create the United Nations Emergency Force in 1956 to solve the Suez Canal Crisis.

From 1939 to 1968, Canada's foreign policy was based on close ties with the United States, especially in trade and defense. Canada was an active member of NATO and worked with the U.S. to defend North America against Soviet bombers. In 1950–53, Canada sent troops to the Korean War to defend South Korea.

Lester Pearson believed that being involved in world affairs could help unite Canadians and give them a broader, more global outlook. He thought it could create a sense of national identity based on Canada being a "middle power."

There was a lot of agreement on Canada's foreign and defense policies from 1948 to 1957. People from different political parties and regions agreed that NATO was good, communism was bad, and that close ties with Europe and the Commonwealth were important.

However, this agreement didn't last. By 1957, the Suez crisis created distance between Canada and both Britain and France. Politicians started to distrust American leadership, and many Canadians questioned American financial investments and Hollywood culture. Support for Canada's foreign policy began to weaken.

Later Years: 1957 to 2006

Generally, in the 20th century, the Liberal Party often favored closer ties with the United States, sometimes at the expense of Britain. The Conservative Party, on the other hand, usually preferred stronger ties with Britain. For example, Conservatives stopped a trade agreement with the U.S. in 1911 and strongly supported Britain in World War I.

However, John Diefenbaker, a Conservative Prime Minister from 1957–1963, was surprised when Britain seriously considered joining the European Economic Community (Common Market). Conservatives saw this as a betrayal of the Commonwealth idea. French President Charles de Gaulle blocked Britain's entry at first, but Britain finally joined in 1975, which weakened its ties to Canada.

Peacekeeping Efforts

The success of the Suez peacekeeping mission made Canadians believe that peacekeeping was a good role for a middle-sized country that respected the United Nations. Canada's role in developing peacekeeping in the late 20th century gave it a reputation as an important player in world affairs. Canada's commitment to working with many countries (multilateralism) has been closely linked to its peacekeeping efforts. Lester B. Pearson, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, is known as the father of modern United Nations Peacekeeping.

Canada sent a peacekeeping force to Cyprus in 1964 and stayed until 1993. There were also other smaller missions, like in the Belgian Congo in the 1960s. Canada played a central role in the International Control Commission (ICC), which tried to bring peace to the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

In 1993, serious misbehavior by Canadian peacekeeping forces in Somalia shocked the country.

Since 1995, Canada's direct involvement in United Nations peacekeeping has decreased a lot. This is mainly because Canada started to direct its military participation through NATO for UN-approved operations, rather than directly through the UN. For example, in July 2006, Canada ranked 51st in the number of peacekeepers it contributed, compared to being much higher in 1990.

Relations with the U.S. and Others

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower worked hard to have good relations with Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (1957–1963). This led to the approval of NORAD, a joint air defense system, in 1957. Relations with President John F. Kennedy were less friendly. Diefenbaker opposed apartheid (racial segregation) in South Africa and helped push it out of the Commonwealth of Nations. His indecision about accepting Bomarc nuclear missiles from the U.S. led to his government's fall.

The Vietnam War (1964–1975) was very unpopular in Canada. Canada gave only minimal diplomatic support and no military help. Liberal Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson (1963–1968) avoided any involvement in Vietnam, focusing instead on complex problems within Canada.

Under Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (1968–1979 and 1980–1984), foreign policy was less important than keeping Canada united. Trudeau took new approaches, sometimes distancing Canada from the United States. He recognized the People's Republic of China before the U.S. did, improved relations with the Soviet Union, and reduced Canada's contributions to NATO. While not cutting trade with the U.S., he focused on improving trade with Europe and Asia. Trudeau also expanded foreign aid, especially to non-white Commonwealth countries. Canada joined most of NATO in putting sanctions on the Soviet Union for its invasion of Afghanistan in 1979–80.

When President Ronald Reagan took office in Washington in 1981, relations cooled. However, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Canada joined most of NATO and sent troops to the Persian Gulf war.

Although Canada remained part of NATO, a strong military presence was not seen as necessary by 1964, and money was redirected to peacekeeping missions. Only 20,000 soldiers were left.

The province of Quebec also started to have its own foreign policy in the 1960s. This meant that in some countries, Canada had two separate missions with different goals.

Recent Times: 2006 to Present

Stephen Harper's Approach

The Conservative Party government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2006-2015) made big changes to Canada's foreign policy. Harper moved away from the previous focus on working with many countries (multilateralism) and reduced Canada's emphasis on the United Nations and peacekeeping. Harper's foreign policy has been described as "ideological" and "diaspora-driven" (influenced by groups of people living outside their home country).

Harper aimed to strengthen cooperation with the United States, especially in their War on terror. His government continued and expanded Canada's involvement in the U.S.-led War in Afghanistan. Harper also led Canada in the Libyan civil war and the Syrian civil war. At the same time, Harper showed strong support for Israel throughout his time as prime minister.

Justin Trudeau's Approach

Prime Minister Trudeau with other world leaders at the 45th G7 summit in Biarritz, France.

Canada's current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Mélanie Joly, who took office in October 2021.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had good relations with U.S. President Barack Obama, even though Trudeau supported the Keystone Pipeline, which Obama rejected. Trudeau's first foreign policy challenges included keeping his promise to withdraw Canadian air support from the Syrian civil war and welcoming 25,000 Syrian war refugees.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft in 2019.

Trudeau had a much colder relationship with Obama's successor, Donald Trump. The Trump administration forced a new agreement for NAFTA, creating the CUSMA. In this deal, Canada made big compromises, allowing more American milk imports and weakening Canada's dairy supply management system. Trump also put tariffs (taxes) on Canadian steel and aluminum, and Trudeau responded by putting tariffs on American goods. At the 2018 G7 summit, Trump called Trudeau "very dishonest and weak" after Trudeau's comments about Trump's tariffs. Trudeau again angered Trump at the 2019 NATO summit when he was seen on video talking with other leaders about a press conference Trump had held. Trump responded by calling Trudeau "two-faced."

After Joe Biden was elected U.S. President in 2020, Trudeau was the first foreign leader to speak with him. Trudeau was also the first leader to speak with Biden after he became president, and their first formal meeting was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada's relationship with China has become worse under Trudeau's leadership.

Similarly, Canada's relationship with Saudi Arabia has also worsened during Trudeau's time as prime minister. Human rights groups have asked Trudeau to stop selling military equipment to Saudi Arabia. In 2018, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador and froze trade with Canada after Canada called for the release of an opposition blogger.

India's intelligence agencies have been accused of trying to secretly influence Canadian politicians to support Indian interests.

In 2020, Canada failed in its attempt to join the United Nations Security Council. This was the second time Canada had failed to get a seat, the first being in 2009 under Stephen Harper.