The Evolving Role of the Commonwealth in Canadian Foreign Policy, 1956 - 1965
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THE EVOLVING ROLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH IN CANADIAN FOREIGN POLICY, 1956 - 1965 by Roderick James M acMillan M acLeod London School of Economics and Political Science A dissertation submitted to the University of London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 1994 UMI Number: U062431 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U062431 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 SZ,^ /\Y S2y British Library of p;,i,i)Ca, and EcorH>:r.ir-Sen : i / ABSTRACT This thesis examines the significance of the Commonwealth in Canadian foreign policy, the motivations behind Canadian policy and the reasons for changes in this policy in the period 1956-1965 in particular. It does so by evaluating Canadian policy towards the development and use of Commonwealth institutions for cooperation. The thesis begins by sketching the development of Canadian policy towards the Commonwealth between 1944 and 1955. It argues that Canadian behaviour during this period set a pattern, which as it evolved in the face of changing conditions, was generally pursued through the period 1956 to 1965. The Commonwealth's role in Canadian policy was as a 'bridge' between the West and the new members from the developing world in support of Western interests in the Cold War. The thesis then looks at the year 1956. When the Suez Crisis occurred, the Commonwealth seemed poised for another transformation as members prepared to admit the first African member and considered British plans for closer economic links with Europe. The Canadian government's actions highlight its efforts to counteract division within the Commonwealth and preserve the 'bridge' to the developing world. The next three chapters review the record of John Diefenbaker's premiership. When he came to office in 1957, he proposed upgrading Canadian foreign policy towards the Commonwealth. Diefenbaker launched initiatives on trade and aid, and had to react to changing patterns of membership, a Commonwealth crisis over South Africa and the British application for EEC membership. Where the Diefenbaker government diverged from the established pattern of Canadian behaviour, its policies failed. For the most part, however, it maintained this pattern as the only practical way to effectively use the m odem 1 Commonwealth in ways conducive to the maintenance and advancement of Canadian interests. The last chapter examines the Canadian government's support for the Commonwealth secretariat. The thesis argues that this was not a substantial shift In Canadian policy, but rather a reflection of changes which had taken place within the Commonwealth and was largely consistent with previous policy. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Producing a doctoral thesis is frequently seen as a very lonely task. The truth is that although it is the work of one person, it has been produced with assistance of many - too many, in fact to mention them all. At the risk of offending some by mentioning a few, I would like to acknowledge my great debt to my supervisors, Dr. John Kent and Dr. Peter Lyon, who gave me the freedom to do what I wanted and the guidance to ensure that I wanted to do what I ought to do. Of all the libraries, archives and other institutions whose resources I made use of, it is unfair to single out just a few, but I owe particular thanks to the staff at the Public Archives of Canada in Ottawa and the Public Records Office in London. The staff at the Canadian Institute of International Affairs in Toronto are due special thanks for continuing to treat me as one of them and sparing no effort to help me along the way. Finally, I want to thank my families, in Canada and in Italy, for their support and assistance. Above all, I want to thank Paola, without whose love and support I would still be sitting at Kew, and to whom this thesis is dedicated. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 6 PREFACE 8 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 11 The Making of Canadian Foreign Policy 15 CHAPTER 2 s CANADIAN APPROACHES TO THE COMMONWEALTH 1944 - 1956 25 The Halifax Imbroglio 28 Towards the Post-War Commonwealth 31 The New Commonwealth 38 Using the New Commonwealth 44 Patterns of Commonwealth Institutional Relationships 51 The Early 1950s: A More Accommodative Canada 58 CHAPTER 3: 1956 75 Building towards the Future: Next Phase of the Commonwealth - Africa 77 Building towards the Future in the Caribbean 83 The Commonwealth and Keeping Britain Great: 1956 88 Testing the Commonwealth: The Suez Crisis 99 The Aftermath of Suez 118 CHAPTER 4: THE DIEFENBAKER REVOLUTION COMES TO THE COMMONWEALTH 129 Mr. Diefenbaker Goes to London: The 1957 CPMM 132 Commonwealth Trade: Canada-Britain Trade Initiatives 138 The Road to the Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference: Getting Agreement 147 The Anglo-Canadian Effort to Make the Conference Work 153 (i) Trade Initiatives 155 (ii) Institutions for Cooperation and Consultation 159 (iii) Development Assistance Initiatives 165 The Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference and its Results 172 CHAPTER 5: THE WINDS OF CHANGE: THE COMING OF THE THIRD COMMONWEALTH 193 Determining The Nature of the Third Commonwealth: Membership and Structure 194 South African Membership: Round I - 1960 213 The Winds Undiverted: African Assistance 222 South African Membership: Round II - 1961 226 Settling Down with the Third Commonwealth 237 CHAPTER 6 - THE NORTH WIND OF CHANGE: BRITAIN AND EUROPE 244 Finding a Solution to Europe: First the EFTA 245 The Commonwealth and Europe in a Global British Policy 255 Canada: Coming to Terms With Britain and the EEC 263 The Denouement: The 1962 CPMM 279 4 CHAPTER 7 - NEW INSTITUTIONS FOR A NEW COMMONWEALTH 289 British Proposals* 1964 - Staying at the Centre of the Commonwealth 289 Canadian Preparations for the 1964 Meeting 294 The 1964 Secretariat Proposal 299 Canadian Policy Towards a Secretariat 302 Overcoming the Last Obstacles 308 British Proposals 1965: Labour's Programme 314 Other Proposals 319 The 1965 CPMM: Outcomes 328 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 336 APPENDIX: PATTERNS IN CANADIAN TRADE 354 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHIC STUDY CANADA AND THE COMMONWEALTH: 1956-1965 359 SOURCE MATERIAL - UNPUBLISHED 371 Archival Sources and Special Collections 371 SOURCE MATERIAL - PUBLISHED 372 Department of External AffairsStatements and Speeches 372 British Command Papers 374 Miscellaneous Official Publications 375 Collections of Documents 376 Published Memoirs and Diaries 377 Published Speeches 378 Articles and Conference Papers 379 Theses, Books and Monographs 386 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AUBC................... Association of Universities of the British Commonwealth BWI.................... British West Indies CC..................... Cabinet Conclusion CP..................... Cabinet Paper CAB.................... Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux CATC................... Commonwealth Air Transport Council CDFC................... Commonwealth Development Finance Corporation CEC.................... Commonwealth Economic Committee CECC................... Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council CELC................... Commonwealth Education Liaison Committee CELU................... Commonwealth Education Liaison Unit CIIA................... Canadian Institute of International Affairs CLC.................... Commonwealth Liaison Committee CPMM................... Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Meeting CRO.................... Commonwealth Relations Office CSG.................... Commonwealth Study Group CTB.................... Commonwealth Telecommunications Board CTEC................... Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference DEA.................... Department of External Affairs ECSC................... European Coal and Steel Community EEC.................... European Economic Community EFTA................... European Free Trade Area/Association FO..................... Foreign Office GATT................... General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade IBRD................... International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) ICC.................... International Control Commission in Indochina IDA.................... International Development Association IMF.................... International Monetary Fund 6 MFN.................... Most-f avoured-nation MG..................... Manuscript Group (Public Archives of Canada) NATO................... North Atlantic Treaty Organization NORAD.................. North American Air Defence (Agreement) OAU.................... Organization for African Unity OECD................... Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OEEC................... Organization for European Economic Cooperation PAC.................... Public Archives of Canada PRO.................... Public Records Office (London) PRO CAB................ British Cabinet or Cabinet Office Records PRO DO.............. ....Dominions Office or Commonwealth Relations Office Records RG..................... Record Group (Public Archives of Canada) SCAAP.................. Special Commonwealth African Aid Plan SSEA..................