November 15, 2005 (10:30 a.m. EST)
No. 215
FOREIGN AFFAIRS CANADA PUBLISHES LATEST VOLUME IN
DOCUMENTS ON CANADIAN EXTERNAL RELATIONS SERIES
Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew today announced the publication of the latest
volume in the long-running series Documents on Canadian External Relations.
Volume 25 is the second of two volumes covering the period from June 1957 to
December 1958.
“A knowledge of the history of Canada’s foreign policy is important for all Canadians,”
said Mr. Pettigrew. “While policies may change, it is important that discussions about
Canada’s role in the world take into account the constant themes that reflect the
enduring ideals and interests of our nation. This volume, with its emphasis on Canada’s
relations with the United States, will be especially useful in this regard.”
Foremost among the topics dealt with in volume 25 are Canada’s relations with the
United States. The volume documents for the first time the initial negotiations over the
North American Air Defence Agreement (NORAD), Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s
first official visit to Washington in October 1957 and U.S. President Dwight
Eisenhower’s return visit in July 1958.
Volume 25 also documents Prime Minister Diefenbaker’s foreign policy toward the
Middle East, the Far East, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and Latin America.
Canada’s ongoing response to the 1956 crisis in Hungary as well as its reaction to new
crises in Taiwan, Lebanon and Jordan figure prominently in this collection.
Documents on Canadian External Relations is a series that features the most important
documents on the evolution and implementation of Canadian foreign political and
economic policy. The first volume was published in 1967, and the series now covers the
years from 1909 to 1958, with the most recent volumes appearing simultaneously in
print and on-line at www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/hist.
The previous volume of documents on the period from June 1957 to December 1958
was released in October 2003. It contained documentary material on the United
Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Commonwealth and Western
Europe.
Volume 25 of Documents on Canadian External Relations is edited by Michael
Stevenson, who is a research associate at the Bertrand Russell Research Centre at
McMaster University in Hamilton. It is available from:
Publishing and Depository Services
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0S5
Tel. (local): (613) 941-5995
Tel. (toll free): 1-800-635-7943 (Canada & U.S.)
Fax (local): (613) 954-5779
Fax (toll free): 1-800-565-7757 (Canada & U.S.)
E-mail: publications@pwgsc.gc.ca
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http://www.international.gc.ca