Volume three of the official history of Canada’s Department of External Affairs offers readers an unparalleled look at the evolving structures underpinning Canadian foreign policy from 1968 to 1984. Using untapped archival sources and extensive interviews with top-level officials and ministers, the volume presents a frank “insider’s view” of work in the Department, its key personalities, and its role in making Canada’s foreign policy. In doing so, the volume presents novel perspectives on Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the country’s responses to the era’s most important international challenges. These include the October Crisis of 1970, recognition of Communist China, UN peacekeeping, decolonization and the North-South dialogue, the Middle East and the Iran Hostage crisis, and the ever-dangerous Cold War.

John Hilliker joined the historical staff of the Department of External Affairs, now Global Affairs Canada, in 1975, and retired as Head of the Section in 2003.

John Hilliker's profile page

Mary Halloran is a member of the Historical Section of Global Affairs Canada and is the author of several articles and papers on the official history of the Department of External Affairs.

Mary Halloran's profile page

Greg Donaghy is Head of the Historical Section at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and General Editor of its series, Documents on Canadian External Relations. His publications include Tolerant Allies: Canada and the United States, 1963-68, and the edited collection (with Patricia Roy) Contradictory Impulses: Canada and Japan in the 20th Century.

Greg Donaghy's profile page

"…an indispensable source for scholars of Canadian foreign relations for years to come."

British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol 31 no 2

"Offering the most comprehensive account of this era in the [Department of External Affairs’] history, and written for historians and students of Canadian international relations, Innovations and Adaptation will be a trusted companion to both policy-makers and policy enthusiasts for years to come."

The Canadian Historical Review vol. 99 no. 3, 2018

“John Hilliker, Mary Halloran, and Greg Donaghy have produced the definitive institutional history of the Department of External Affairs during the Trudeau era. Well written and impressively researched, it will be cited by scholars for years to come.”

Adam Chapnick, Department of Defence Studies, Royal Military College of Canada

“Canada’s Department of External Affairs is a major contribution to historical research. The authors’ scholarship is sound, the research exhaustive, and the range of sources utilized is extremely impressive. The book maintains the high quality of thoroughness of the first two volumes in the series and is a first rate contribution to our understanding of the Department of External Affairs, the Trudeau years more generally, and the evolution of Canada’s foreign policy.”

David MacKenzie, Department of History, Ryerson University