Turn On The Canada Flag

Left Turn, Canada

M.J. Coldwell is the leader of Canada's fastest-growing political party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation-better known as the CCF. In this book he tells how the organization came into being, how its principles have been successfully practiced in Saskatchewan, and he also reveals the plans CCF has for Canada in the post-war years. Mr. Coldwell then surveys the role of Canada as a "middle power" and discusses in detail its social, political, and economic future. Under Mr. Coldwell's leadership the CCF has grown in popularity and gained power; it has been able to show that its programme is a practical one. Like many political figures of the British Dominions, CCF's gifted chief was born and educated in England. When he came to Canada from Devon in 1910 at the age of 22, he acquired his first knowledge of Canadian life and politics as a schoolteacher in a community of homesteaders and small ranchers. Once launched on his career he became, in succession, President of the Canadian Teachers Federation, Chairman of Saskatchewan Royal Commission of Inquiry into Provincial Services, Alderman of Regina, and CCF leader in the Province of Saskatchewan. In 1935 he was first elected to the Dominion Parliament and emerged as one of the outstanding figures in Canadian public life. From 1937-1938 he was national chairman of the CCF and in 1942 he became national leader of the Party. In 1945 with Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King and other selected leaders Mr. Coldwell represented Canada at the United Nations Conference in San Francisco.

Canada's Flag

Canada as a selective power

The academic study of Canada has traditionally been the realm of Canadian scholars. For this reason it is easy for outsiders to view Canada as a semi-Nordic continental utopia existing peacefully under a benign government that seeks only peace and harmony in the world. The reality is a more complicated story. That is the strength of this outstanding new book written by two young Polish scholars specializing in Canadian affairs. They have put together an impressively researched monograph that combines a detailed analysis outlining a rather basic premise: The world has changed dramatically since 1989 - and Canada has changed with it. In this well argued narrative they argue that in recent years Canada's foreign policy has becomeone primarily based on interests rather than the promotion of "untainted altruism" or stereotypical "Canadian values." They argue that since 1989 Canadian foreign policy has moved from the more modest aims of a "middle-power" to a more self-assertive role of a "selective power" pursuing more narrowly chosen priorities - and often based on "simple profit and loss calculations" that have clashed with Canada's traditional favorable image in the world - even if few outside of Canada seemed to notice.