Canada between Vichy and Free France 1940–1945 by Olivier Courteaux (review)

This interesting book deals with the generally under-studied subject of French foreign relations during the Second World War through the prism of Canada, explaining how Canada as a bilingual and bi-‘cultural’ country was cautiously dealing with a conservative, reactionary and collaborative French regime in Vichy while accommodating the mother country Britain’s cooperation with a Free French authority without proper state legitimacy. Another element woven into the book is the Canadian relationship with its southern neighbour, who had a contrasting position and strategy to London’s in the matter.

The complexity of the subject is identified and explained as Canada walking a formidable tightrope of approaches and interests, with the recurring theme being the priority of maintaining Canadian unity, elaborated in the first chapter, which also explains Canada’s initial unwillingness to become involved in yet another major conflict in Europe. The changing fortunes of both Vichy and Free France during the war and the delicacy of the situation in Canada with regard to the sensitive areas of conscription, war commitment and the question of support for either Vichy or de Gaulle France within political circles in Quebec and the rest of the country are used as explanation patterns to disentangle this complexity. Ultimately, the author recognises Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s cautious approach during the whole conflict as the guiding principle to avoid conflict within the country as well as with Canada’s British and American allies. This evolved into the adoption of the ‘functional principle’ (p. 189) as a Canadian foreign policy tenet as well as Canada’s pursuance of multilateralism and collective security after the war, recognising the limits of the action and influence of a middle-sized power.

Whereas the book elaborates Canada’s role within the framework of Allied dealings with Vichy and Free France in detail, especially through Pierre Dupuy’s missions to Vichy in 1940 and 1941, more exhaustive investigation would have been desirable on a few points. While the Canadian relationship with the United States and Britain is well covered, the Anglo-American rift in their relations with Vichy, in particular the ‘Vichy Gamble’ regarding North Africa, one of the United States’ main tenets for maintaining relations with Vichy, merits more attention along with an analysis of Canada’s reaction to this (pp. 98–9). Also, the escalating Anglo-(Vichy) French antagonism in June and July 1940 needs greater clarification in the context of the rupture of diplomatic relations between Vichy and London and its aftermath (pp. 34–7, 40). Furthermore, a more detailed explanation of Canada’s domestic political tensions and how specifically the government ‘succeeded in keeping the country together’ (p. x) would have been helpful for understanding the context of the noted development of French-Canadian sentiment towards Vichy, from pre-war uninterest to France becoming an element of controversy and strong feelings over the war years (pp. 26–9).

In conclusion, this book is a welcome contribution to the convoluted wartime diplomatic history surrounding France and will certainly be of interest to those wishing to extend their insight into the diplomatic aspects of Franco–Canadian relations during the war, while the understanding of domestic Canadian tensions regarding France is a lesser focus. It is thus recommended to a Canadian diplomatic history-oriented readership.