Hockey Diplomacy and Canadian Foreign Policy

Abstract

Canada’s declining fortunes in international hockey after World War II contrasted sharply with the golden age of its foreign policy, when Canada occupied a “middle power” role in the international system. Concern over the lack of success and the tarnished image of Canada’s representative hockey teams abroad caused the government to establish Hockey Canada in 1970. This body engineered a series of events on the international hockey scene that led to the historic 1972 hockey series between Team Canada and the Soviet Union. Consequently, the Department of External Affairs was drawn into the realm of sport and foreign diplomacy, and as a result, established an International Sports Relations Desk in 1972.