“Which Kind of Imperialism?” Early Cold War Decolonization and Canada–US Relations

Abstract

Abstract: Prior to World War II, Canada's government and its citizens were generally supportive of British imperialism, and of Britain's foreign policy in general. Though specific groups within Canada—most notably Francophones, leftist and labour leaders, and growing numbers of ethnic minorities—had expressed long-standing opposition to colonialism, the nation's elites viewed themselves as partners in Britain's global civilizing project. These affinities began to break down during the 1940s, as the lessons of World War II, along with the simultaneous rise of American power and ebbing of British authority, forced Canada's leaders to reassess their attitudes and policies regarding imperialism. Yet, at the precise moment many Canadians were striving to adopt a more “American” approach to the issue, one which drew on nearly two centuries of republican-based critiques of foreign domination, the United States was reigning in its own antipathy to imperialism in light of emerging Cold War realities. This study finds that these repositionings proved disorienting for a still-powerful constituency of Anglophiles, who feared their nation was being seduced into a new and less noble imperial project.