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A century ago Canada was mired in a devastating world war that our country’s government had no option but to join because in that era Britain’s foreign policy became our colonial fate.

Today we are still wedded to collective security for military purposes, but as a fully sovereign nation state, a founding member of the United Nations, and partner in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Today we still remain affiliated with other countries under the British Crown, but in a Commonwealth of free-standing nations rather than as a colonial dependency, and our global affiliations have been extended to other French-speaking countries also, through the international organization of La Francophonie. Canadian foreign policy is now made in Ottawa, not elsewhere, as shown by the change in our military deployment against the “Islamic State” terrorist organization in Syria and Iraq, and in our environmental stance at the Paris conference on global warming, as a result of a different government coming to office in late 2015.

With this freedom of action comes higher responsibility. As masters of our own fate in a global context, we are no longer easy riders on the backs of others. The gravity of our geopolitical position, as an increasingly marginal player on the dynamic world stage with many new and growing powers, demands a clear and dispassionate review of our present circumstances. For Canada’s national aspirations and our partnerships for global security to be fulfilled, clarity of analysis needs to be combined with a stance that reflects Canadian values, in a balanced way that our government can advance and our people support.

In this context, Hugh Segal offers a most timely contribution. With the Trudeau government and Canadians generally at a point of departure in the conduct of public affairs, our foreign policy in particular can benefit from Segal’s cogent reappraisal. He has gained perspective for this refreshing point of view from both personal front-line activity and the hard lessons of Canadian national experience. A veteran of Canadian political life who came to master the intricacies of public policy, Hugh Segal sets down important new markers to help Canada stay true to its national imperatives and values in a radically transforming world.

Rather than succumbing to a fatalism that sees our Canadian future dictated by others, or yielding to a determinism that holds Canadian action is constrained by forces beyond our control, Hugh Segal’s rich seasoning in Canada’s external relations inspire him “to confront the cult of foreign policy inevitability.”

J. Patrick Boyer

General Editor

Point of View Books