Yves Engler continues his groundbreaking analyses of past and present Canadian foreign policy. The author of The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy, and other works that challenge the myth of Canadian benevolence, documents Canadian involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, the "scramble for Africa" and European colonialism. The book reveals Ottawa's opposition to anticolonial struggles, its support for apartheid South Africa and Idi Amin's coup, and its role in ousting independence leaders Patrice Lumumba and Kwame Nkrumah. Based on an exhaustive look at the public record as well as on-the-ground research, Canada in Africa shows how the federal government pressed African countries to follow neoliberal economic prescriptions and sheds light on Canada's part in the violence that has engulfed Somalia, Rwanda and the Congo, as well as how Canada's indifference to climate change means a death sentence to ever-growing numbers of Africans.

A wave of optimism has swept the African continent in the past decade. The pace and extent of social change in recent years, when measured in life expectancy, child and infant mortality rates, literacy, numeracy and the completion of higher education, is quite remarkable. The urban middle class is emerging and expanding in many African countries, while political democracy is developing and strengthening. These positive changes are generating economic growth and attracting foreign investment across the continent, especially in the resource sector. But Africa is still viewed by many as the “dark continent” dealing with serious problems — civil wars, ethnic division, corruption, HIV/AIDS, poverty, food security and the disastrous effects of climate change — and these issues may well impede the upward trajectory of Africa. Canada-Africa Relations: Looking Back, Looking Ahead — the 27th volume of the influential Canada Among Nations series — analyzes the ebb and flow of Canada’s engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa through different lenses over the past few decades and also looks to the future, highlighting the opportunities and the difficulties that exist for Canada and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is clear that a new Africa is emerging, and Canada must be prepared to change the nature of its relationship with the continent.

The impact of colonial dispossession and the subsequent social and political ramifications places a unique burden on governments having to establish equitable means of addressing previous injustices. This book considers the efforts by both Canada and South Africa to reconcile the damage left by colonial expansion, in part, looking back with a critical eye, but also pointing the way towards a solution that will satisfy the common need for human dignity

Canada’s engagement with post-independence Africa presents a puzzle. Although Canada is recognized for its activism where Africa is concerned, critics have long noted the contradictions that underlie Canadian involvement. Focusing on the period following 2000, and by juxtaposing Jean Chrétien’s G8 activism with the Harper government’s retreat from continental engagement, David R. Black’s Canada and Africa in the New Millennium illustrates a history of consistent inconsistency in Canada’s relationship with Africa. Black combines three interpretive frames to account for this record: the tradition of “good international citizenship”; Canada’s role as a benign face of Western hegemonic interests in Africa; and Africa’s role as the basis for a longstanding narrative concerning Canada’s ethical mission in the world. To examine Africa’s place in Canada’s foreign policy—and Canada’s place in Africa—Black focuses on G8 diplomacy, foreign aid, security assistance through peace operations and training, and the increasingly controversial impact of Canadian extractive companies. Offering an integrated account of Canada’s role in sub-Saharan Africa, Black provides a way of understanding the nature and resilience of recent shifts in Canadian policy. He underscores how Africa—though marginal to Canadian interests as traditionally conceived—has served as an important marker of Canada’s international role.

Margaret Laurence Writes Africa and Canada is the first book to examine how Laurence addresses decolonization and nation building in 1950s Somalia and Ghana, and 1960s and 1970s English Canada. Focusing on Laurence’s published works as well as her unpublished letters not yet discussed by critics, the book articulates how Laurence and her characters are poised between African colonies of occupation during decolonization and the settler-colony of English Canada during the implementation of Canadian multiculturalism. Laurence’s Canadian characters are often divided subjects who are not quite members of their ancestral “imperial” cultures, yet also not truly “native” to their nation. Margaret Laurence Writes Africa and Canada shows how Laurence and her characters negotiate complex tensions between “self” and “nation,” and argues that Laurence’s African and Canadian writing demonstrates a divided Canadian subject who holds significant implications for both the individual and the country of Canada. Bringing together Laurence’s writing about Africa and Canada, Davis offers a unique contribution to the study of Canadian literature. The book is an original interpretation of Laurence’s work and reveals how she displaces the simple notion that Canada is a sum total of different cultures and conceives Canada as a mosaic that is in flux and constituted through continually changing social relations.

Marking the Sesquicentennial of Confederation in Canada, this book examines the growing global influence of Canada's Constitution and Supreme Court on courts confronting issues involving human rights.

No two nations in the world are as integrated, economically and socially, as are the United States and Canada. We share geography, values and the largest unprotected border in the world. Regardless of this close friendship, our two countries are on a slow-motion collision course—with each other and with the rest of the world. While we wrestle with internal political gridlock and fiscal challenges and clash over border problems, the economies of the larger world change and flourish. Emerging economies sailed through the meltdown of 2008. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that by 2018, China's economy will be bigger than that of the United States; when combined with India, Japan and the four Asian Tigers—South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong--China's economy will be bigger than that of the G8 (minus Japan). Rather than continuing on this road to mutual decline, our two nations should chart a new course. Bestselling author Diane Francis proposes a simple and obvious solution: What if the United States and Canada merged into one country? The most audacious initiative since the Louisiana Purchase would solve the biggest problems each country expects to face: the U.S.'s national security threats and declining living standards; and Canada's difficulty controlling and developing its huge land mass stemming from a lack of capital, workers, technology and military might. Merger of the Century builds both a strong political argument and a compelling business case, treating our two countries not only as sovereign entities but as merging companies. We stand on the cusp of a new world order. Together, by marshalling resources and combining efforts, Canada and America have a greater chance of succeeding. As separate nations, the future is in much greater doubt indeed.

The South Africa-Canada Program on Governance (PoG) during Nelson Mandela's 1992 visit to Canada, when he asked the Canadian government to assist the people of South Africa in their preparations for democracy. In 1993, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the democratic movement of South Africa jointly launched the PoG, its mission: to help South Africa build the capacity to govern itself. This book views the transition to democracy in South Africa. It describes the approaches used by the PoG, as well as the activities the program designed and developed. It presents the why, what, and how of a governance program--Publisher's description.

This book argues that Canada and its international policies are at a crossroads as US hegemony is increasingly challenged and a new international order is emerging. The contributors look at how Canada has been adjusting to this new environment and resetting priorities to meet its international policy objectives in a number of different fields: from the alignment of domestic politics along new foreign policies, to reshaping its international identity in a post-Anglo order, its relationship with international organizations such as the UN and NATO, place among middle powers, management of peace operations and defense, role in G7 and G20, climate change and Arctic policy, development, and relations with the Global South. Embracing multilateralism has been and will continue to be key to Canada’s repositioning and its ability to maintain its position in this new world order. This book takes a comprehensive look at Canada’s role in the world and the various political and policy variables that will impact Canada’s foreign policy decisions into the future. Chapter 22 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.