This book is a history of Canada's role in the world as well as the impact of world events on Canada. Starting from the country's quasi-independence from Britain in 1867, its analysis moves through events in Canadian and global history to the present day. Looking at Canada's international relations from the perspective of elite actors and normal people alike, this study draws on original research and the latest work on Canadian international and transnational history to examine Canadians' involvement with a diverse mix of issues, from trade and aid, to war and peace, to human rights and migration. The book traces four inter-connected themes: independence and growing estrangement from Britain; the longstanding and ongoing tensions created by ever-closer relations with the United States; the huge movement of people from around the world into Canada; and the often overlooked but significant range of Canadian contacts with the non-Western world. With an emphasis on the reciprocal nature of Canada's involvement in world affairs, ultimately it is the first work to blend international and transnational approaches to the history of Canadian international relations.

Introduction: Canada and the World1. A Colonial Sort of Country: Canada and the British World2. Canada's Century?: Expansion, Migration, and Colonialism3. From Colony to Nation: The Great War and Its Legacy4. A Time of Hope and Fear: Canadians and the Interwar Crises5. Coming of Age: Canada's Second World War 6. A Brave New World: Canada and the Postwar Order7. A Middle Power: Canadians Confront the Cold War8. New Options, New Directions: The Trudeau Years9. The Global in the Local: Canada in the Long 1970s10. Canada and the Age of American Primacy11. A Global Country: Canada and GlobalizationEpilogue: Toward a Multipolar WorldNotesBibliographyIndex