Sound and Fury: Diefenbaker, Human Rights, and Canadian Foreign Policy

Abstract

Taking account of recent attention both to Canada's human rights history and to efforts to provide more nuanced examinations of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's time in office, this article explores the place of human rights in Diefenbaker's foreign policy. In doing so, it examines the international context of Diefenbaker's Bill of Rights and other domestic achievements and looks also at the prime minister's handling of South African apartheid, the issue of self-determination as it emerged at the United Nations, and rights violations in Communist countries. Concluding that there are some grounds to praise Diefenbaker, it argues, though, that the fiery prairie populist's rhetoric rarely matched reality. Despite considerable sound and fury, Diefenbaker's promotion of human rights broke little ground in terms of making the protection of rights a major focal point in Canadian foreign policy.