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Reviewed by:
  • Reassessing the Rogue Tory: Canadian Foreign Relations in the Diefenbaker Era ed. by Janice Cavell and Ryan M. Touhey
  • Patricia McMahon
Janice Cavell and Ryan M. Touhey, editors, Reassessing the Rogue Tory: Canadian Foreign Relations in the Diefenbaker Era. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2018. xi, 302 pp. $89.95 (cloth), $32.95 (paper or e-book).

Historians have been remarkably critical of John G. Diefenbaker, Canada's 13th prime minister. He won the greatest electoral majority to that time in 1958 only to see his support crumble to a minority government in 1962 and outright defeat in 1963. But portraits of Diefenbaker tend toward the caricature. Scrutiny of his conduct in external relations has been especially harsh. Many regard Diefenbaker's election as the end of the "golden age" of Canadian foreign relations; his tenure described as "an embarrassingly amateurish interlude between the more impressive Liberal regimes of Louis St. Laurent and Lester Pearson" (4).

Edited by Janice Cavell and Ryan Touhey, Reassessing the Rogue Tory: Canadian Foreign Relations in the Diefenbaker Era offers an engaging re-evaluation of the period. Emphasizing the era more than the man, every essay in this thirteen-chapter collection offers useful reconsiderations of this highly controversial prime minister. With a mix of contributions from established and emerging scholars, the chapters cover the range of topic most typically associated with Diefenbaker's time in office: The Commonwealth, Canadian-American Relations, Nuclear Weapons, the Developing World, and the Role of the Foreign Minister. Most authors situate their discussion within the existing historiography; each offers enough detail about relevant events that this collection appeals to non-specialists and specialists alike. What emerges are more nuanced accounts of a leader who had the misfortune to lead Canada during a period of change and challenge.

McKenzie's chapter on the Commonwealth and Diefenbaker's 1958 World Tour starts the collection and describes Diefenbaker as a liberal internationalist. The tour illustrates the prime minister's multicultural vision of the Commonwealth, his devotion to freedom and anti-communism within the Commonwealth, and support for the elimination of racial prejudice. Diefenbaker understood and admired the shared British heritage among Commonwealth countries and believed these institutions upheld democratic [End Page 446] systems and promoted social justice. As McKenzie demonstrates, there were limits to this vision, but it was in sync with the new era of decolonization.

Hillmer's chapter is an outlier—albeit a fair one—in its adamance that Diefenbaker's dealings with the UK do not require reassessment. Dief looked to the UK to help modify the influence of the US in Canada just as the UK was moving closer toward Europe. His rash proposal to divert fifteen percent of Canada's trade from the US to the UK was not viable if well-intentioned. His support for non-white South Africa and opposition to apartheid was principled if problematic. Hillmer remains a skeptic. As Cavell characterizes it, "A wiser statesman might have satisfied New Commonwealth aspirations while keeping Britain's goodwill" (8). Perhaps.

The collection includes valuable contributions on Canadian policy in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Spooner discusses Canada's approach to Africa under Diefenbaker—not just his concern about South Africa, but the response to the crisis in the Congo and to decolonization more generally. McKercher describes the deft way that Diefenbaker engaged with Latin America, calling it a "shrewd calculation of Canadian interests and abilities." Campbell-Miller, Carroll and Donaghy discuss how Diefenbaker left a mark on Canadian policy toward Asia with his support for the Commonwealth, his "hawkish Cold War perspective," and desire to promote Canadian agriculture (209).

Historians of the era have spilled much ink on Canadian-American relations, particularly on the turbulent relationship between Diefenbaker and Kennedy. The topic begs for reconsideration, and the collection does not disappoint. Azzi discusses Kennedy's attitude toward Diefenbaker and his administration's approach. Typically, historians blame Dief for the breakdown in relations under Kennedy, but Azzi does much to show that JFK should shoulder more of the blame. He offers a fascinating analysis of Kennedy's use of language—from hints at mental illness and emasculation to infantilization. Such treatment was not reserved...

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