Diefenbaker’s World: A Populist In Foreign Affairs

John Diefenbaker, Canada's Conservative prime minister from 1957 to 1963, was stubborn, parochial, nationalistic, unbeguiled by the glamor of international politics-no favorite in Washington or London. This inside account, by a senior Canadian diplomat who served for five years as Diefenbaker's liaison with the Department of External Affairs, describes how Diefenbaker approached foreign policy in terms of domestic politics. There is excellent material on the rift between Diefenbaker and John F. Kennedy, connected with the issue of nuclear weapons in Canada and exacerbated by the Cuban missile crisis.