Reflections on the Silver Age of Canadian Diplomacy: The Memoirs of Three Canadian Diplomats

The 1970s and 1980s were a golden age of memoirs, studies, and diaries written by Canadian diplomats. Many of these works had a profound impact on the field of Canadian foreign relations history during a period when fewer historians studied the subject. Prominent diplomats involved in Canadian post-1945 statecraft published books during this period, including figures such as R.A.D. Ford, Escott Reid, and Charles Ritchie. They were a remarkably talented lot who shared a number of attributes. Most came of age in a pre-1939 Canada that was quasi-isolationist and parochial, and they were predominantly products of the Oxbridge system. These men reflected the established power structures of the day and were almost all White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant. The Second World War challenged Canadians to accept a broader global role than earlier periods had, providing Canada’s young and talented mandarins with opportunities and the confidence to help “shape the peace.” The writings of the aforementioned figures reflect the successes and failures of Canada’s diplomatic “golden age.”

The diplomats of this golden age gradually gave way to a new cohort of young officials. Like their illustrious predecessors, James Bartleman, Derek Burney, and Allan Gotlieb have contributed to the rich trove of diplomatic memoirs and diary writing. These men reflect the changing demographic nature of post-1945 Canadian society in that they are of varied racial, class, and religious backgrounds, suggesting an easing of social mobility in the senior ranks of government. Gender mobility occurred gradually. Interestingly, only Gotlieb went abroad for his education whereas Burney and Bartleman attended universities in Ontario, implying that the traditional value of an Oxbridge education had diminished.

All three came of age during what is colloquially referred to as the “silver age” of Canadian diplomacy, and their writings add new insights into the conduct of Canada’s foreign relations from the 1960s into the 1990s, a period when the lustre of the golden age had faded. These studies are connected by three central themes. First, these men entered the Department of External Affairs (DEA) as Canada became increasingly oriented towards the United States and the importance of the Commonwealth and NATO faded. Conflicting visions in Ottawa on whether to embrace that trend or defy it dominate much of their writing. Second, all three writers lament the decline of the DEA as the elite agency that influenced the conduct of Canadian foreign policy. Third, they emphasize the encroachment of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in setting the tone of Canadian foreign policy.

Allan Gotlieb’s book The Washington Diaries deftly captures the complexity of an often-neurotic relationship with Washington. Gotlieb was under-secretary of state for External Affairs in 1981 before his appointment as ambassador to Washington from 1981 to 1989, the most prestigious and politically sensitive post for Canada’s diplomats. The central thesis of The Washington Diaries is that an effective public diplomacy program is a must in Washington if any Canadian ambassador or prime minister hopes to gain and exercise influence. Gotlieb tirelessly sought to meet the key players in the Reagan administration and the key legislators on Capitol Hill. He clearly saw the spotlight as important for achieving Ottawa’s goals, and he revelled in being a highly visible figure...