Shades of Gray? “The Foundations of Canadian Policy in World Affairs” in Context

Abstract

Sixty years ago, Louis St. Laurent, then secretary of state for external affairs, delivered one of the most famous speeches on Canada's foreign policy: it was the first address by a Canadian foreign minister to outline the principles upon which Canada's relations with the rest of the world were based, and to delineate the key instruments for the application of those principles to international affairs. (2) From the outset, St. Laurent's elaboration of Foundations of Canadian Policy in World Affairs was acknowledged by journalists and academic commentators as both an important pronouncement and a possible indication of how the new minister would guide the Department of External Affairs. (3) Memoirs by former diplomats and policy advisers have recalled the Lecture as a manifestation of fundamental change in the direction of Canadian foreign policy. (4) Accounts of Canada's policies and actions in world affairs in the early years of the Cold War have frequently relied on its text as a valuable indication of what mattered most not only to the makers of Canadian foreign policy at that time but also to Canadians generally. (5) In surveys of the development of Canada's international relations, the speech has been interpreted as a forward-looking tour d'horizon that anticipated the cardinal features of Canada's alignment and alliances in the primordial global clash of values and interests that so divided the postwar world. (6) Especially because the speaker would, within two years, become prime minister of a government generally identified with prosperity and active international engagement, the text has also been seen as an implicit--or explicit--repudiation of the relatively timorous policies and actions (or inactions) that characterized the era of William Lyon Mackenzie King. (7) In other words, the remarks have typically been seen as manifestations of a transformation in leadership and direction, one that is almost invariably depicted in favorable terms. This iconic use of the lecture has meant that it has often not been assessed in its contemporary context but rather has been viewed generally in the light of what came later. The purpose of this article is to take another look back at the Gray Lecture, to examine its purpose and its content, particularly as these were regarded by the speaker and by the author of the text, and to evaluate its significance. (8) To what extent did the speech herald a departure in Canadian foreign policy--and the rhetoric associated with it--and to what extent did it simply represent a reaffirmation of Canada's values and interests in international affairs? For St. Laurent, this was his first major speech as secretary of state for external affairs, a portfolio held since 1912 by the prime minister. The fact that King was still prime minister--and that he scrutinized the work of his former department--should alert us that no clarion call to revolution was likely from this podium at this time. (9) Nor was St. Laurent personally inclined to issue one: he had much less experience in national politics and international relations than his predecessor, he was new to the portfolio, his appointment was initially seen as temporary, and he did not have a professional background in diplomacy (as did his closest adviser and eventual successor, Lester B. Pearson). (10) A prominent and successful lawyer before he entered politics, St. Laurent had joined King's wartime cabinet out of a profound sense of national duty--a sentiment and conviction to which King appealed often to keep St. Laurent in government and ultimately to persuade him to stand for the leadership of the Liberal Party and succession as prime minister. Seen in that light, as well as in the context of King's determination to reduce his own workload, St. Laurent's shift to responsibility for Canada's foreign affairs made political sense. (11) Neither by temperament nor from experience was St. Laurent likely to risk the wrath of the cautious prime minister by a bold and novel statement. …