Norman Hillmer – författare

In this collection of essays marking the centenary of Pearson''s birth, eighteen leading academics, journalists, public servants, and politicians recreate and reassess Pearson''s premiership from 1963 to 1968. Robert Bothwell (Toronto) introduces Pearson the man and Denis Stairs (Dalhousie) presents his political ideas. Governor General award-winning author and journalist Christina McCall and J.L. Granatstein (Canadian Institute of International Affairs) compare Pearson and his nemesis, John Diefenbaker. Stephen Azzi (House of Commons) and Greg Donaghy (Department of Foreign Affairs) write respectively about the prime minister''s relations with Walter Gordon and Paul Martin Sr. Tom Kent (Queen''s) and Penny Bryden (Mount Allison) discuss the Pearson welfare state, while Claude Ryan, editor of Le Devoir in the 1960s, and Michael Behiels (Ottawa) debate national unity. Patrick Brennan (Calgary) looks at the media. Monique Bégin (Ottawa), Andrew Cohen (Globe and Mail), Blair Neatby (Carleton), and former public servants Ross Campbell, Al Johnson, Geoffrey Pearson, and Gordon Robertson gauge the scope of Pearson''s legacy. The collection also includes an introduction by the editor and a foreword by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

The last foreign policy review was conducted in 1995 and there has been no thoroughgoing, decisive, public reconsideration of the significance of the terrorist attacks against the United States, the violent response in U.S. policy and action, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, tests and failures of the United Nations Security Council, and the transformed quality of relations along the Canada-U.S. border. Still less has there been any open, extensive, government-led reassessment of the obligations of continental defence or the new and future accommodations required to realign Canada''s relations with the United States and the rest of the world. Policy initiatives have instead looked temporizing and partial.

O.D. Skelton: The Work of the World, 1923-1941 is a lively and compelling trip through the letters, diary entries, and official memoranda of O.D. Skelton, one of the most important and influential civil servants in twentieth-century Canada. Skelton was a towering foreign policy advisor to Canada''s prime ministers and a lonely advocate for the country''s independence from Great Britain. His accounts detail his work as he co-operated and clashed with William Lyon Mackenzie King and R.B. Bennett over Canada''s participation in the international arena. Norman Hillmer''s selection and assessment of Skelton''s writings offer a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the federal government as Skelton systematically built up the Department of External Affairs and the Canadian diplomatic service as instruments of the national interest, confronted the Manchurian, Ethiopian, and Czech crises of the 1930s, aligned himself with senior francophone politicians such as Ernest Lapointe and Raoul Dandurand, and watched in despair as Europe and Asia descended into war. Providing avenues into a time when Canada was struggling to define itself, this collection shows the ways in which O.D. Skelton pushed the country onto the global stage.

O.D. Skelton: The Work of the World, 1923-1941 is a lively and compelling trip through the letters, diary entries, and official memoranda of O.D. Skelton, one of the most important and influential civil servants in twentieth-century Canada. Skelton was a towering foreign policy advisor to Canada''s prime ministers and a lonely advocate for the country''s independence from Great Britain. His accounts detail his work as he co-operated and clashed with William Lyon Mackenzie King and R.B. Bennett over Canada''s participation in the international arena. Norman Hillmer''s selection and assessment of Skelton''s writings offer a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the federal government as Skelton systematically built up the Department of External Affairs and the Canadian diplomatic service as instruments of the national interest, confronted the Manchurian, Ethiopian, and Czech crises of the 1930s, aligned himself with senior francophone politicians such as Ernest Lapointe and Raoul Dandurand, and watched in despair as Europe and Asia descended into war. Providing avenues into a time when Canada was struggling to define itself, this collection shows the ways in which O.D. Skelton pushed the country onto the global stage.

When O.D. Skelton became Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s foreign policy advisor in 1923, he was already a celebrated critic of the status quo in international and domestic affairs, a loyal Liberal Party man, and a fervent nationalist who believed Canada needed to steer a path independent of Britain. Two years later, he became the permanent head of Canada’s Department of External Affairs. Between then and his tragic death in 1941, Skelton created Canada’s professional diplomatic service, staffing it with sharp young men such as Lester B. Pearson.Skelton’s importance in Ottawa was unparalleled, and his role in shaping Canada’s world was formative and crucial. Using research from archives across Canada and around the world, Norman Hillmer presents Skelton not only as a towering intellectual force but as deeply human – deceptively quiet, complex, and driven by an outsize ambition for himself and for his country. O.D. Skelton is the definitive biography of the most influential public servant in Canada’s history, written by one of the most prolific Canadian historians of international affairs and the editor of Skelton’s voluminous papers.

When O.D. Skelton became Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s foreign policy advisor in 1923, he was already a celebrated critic of the status quo in international and domestic affairs, a loyal Liberal Party man, and a fervent nationalist who believed Canada needed to steer a path independent of Britain. Two years later, he became the permanent head of Canada’s Department of External Affairs. Between then and his tragic death in 1941, Skelton created Canada’s professional diplomatic service, staffing it with sharp young men such as Lester B. Pearson.Skelton’s importance in Ottawa was unparalleled, and his role in shaping Canada’s world was formative and crucial. Using research from archives across Canada and around the world, Norman Hillmer presents Skelton not only as a towering intellectual force but as deeply human – deceptively quiet, complex, and driven by an outsize ambition for himself and for his country. O.D. Skelton is the definitive biography of the most influential public servant in Canada’s history, written by one of the most prolific Canadian historians of international affairs and the editor of Skelton’s voluminous papers.

When O.D. Skelton became Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s foreign policy advisor in 1923, he was already a celebrated critic of the status quo in international and domestic affairs, a loyal Liberal Party man, and a fervent nationalist who believed Canada needed to steer a path independent of Britain. Two years later, he became the permanent head of Canada’s Department of External Affairs. Between then and his tragic death in 1941, Skelton created Canada’s professional diplomatic service, staffing it with sharp young men such as Lester B. Pearson.Skelton’s importance in Ottawa was unparalleled, and his role in shaping Canada’s world was formative and crucial. Using research from archives across Canada and around the world, Norman Hillmer presents Skelton not only as a towering intellectual force but as deeply human – deceptively quiet, complex, and driven by an outsize ambition for himself and for his country. O.D. Skelton is the definitive biography of the most influential public servant in Canada’s history, written by one of the most prolific Canadian historians of international affairs and the editor of Skelton’s voluminous papers.

This book offers the first comprehensive analysis of Canadian foreign policy under the government of Justin Trudeau, with a concentration on the areas of climate change, trade, Indigenous rights, arms sales, refugees, military affairs, and relationships with the United States and China. At the book’s core is Trudeau’s biggest and most unexpected challenge: the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Drawing on recognized experts from across Canada, this latest edition of the respected Canada Among Nations series will be essential reading for students of international relations and Canadian foreign policy and for a wider readership interested in Canada’s age of Trudeau.See other books in the Canada Among Nations series here: https://carleton.ca/npsia/canada-among-nations/

Canada Among Nations has been published by faculty from Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs for several decades. This year’s edition focuses on national security in the 21st Century.  Bringing together emerging and senior scholars, and serving and recently retired practitioners, the volume examines great power competition, the Indo-Pacific, Canada’s alliances, the Canada-United States relationship, national defence, and intelligence. The book further explores  broader national security concerns, including Arctic security, natural disasters and emergencies, pandemics and public health, right-wing violent extremism, hostile activities of state actors, cyber security, migration, and organized crime.

This book offers the first comprehensive analysis of Canadian foreign policy under the government of Justin Trudeau, with a concentration on the areas of climate change, trade, Indigenous rights, arms sales, refugees, military affairs, and relationships with the United States and China. At the book’s core is Trudeau’s biggest and most unexpected challenge: the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Drawing on recognized experts from across Canada, this latest edition of the respected Canada Among Nations series will be essential reading for students of international relations and Canadian foreign policy and for a wider readership interested in Canada’s age of Trudeau.See other books in the Canada Among Nations series here: https://carleton.ca/npsia/canada-among-nations/