AN ANALYSIS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA'S FOREIGN POLICY WITH RESPECT TO THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 1948 TO 1982: AN ARAB PERSPECTIVE

Canadian Middle East relations have been marked by a reserve atypical of leading Western powers. However, despite Canada's low profile in the Middle East prior to 1956, three significant developments had already drawn the nation into the region's affairs: the creation of the United Nations and the General Assembly's specialized committees and peacekeeping forces relevant to the area, the advent to the area, the advent of European Zionism and the Jewish dilemma stemming from Nazi persecutions of World War II, and the creation of the State of Israel at the dire expense of the Palestinian inhabitants. Canada's relations with Middle Eastern countries have not reflected Canadian interests of the first priority, but have been a function of at least five other factors: (1) the nation's internal economic and political power configuration; (2) its advocacy of the United Nations' efforts in the region; (3) its ties to NATO, the British Commonwealth, and to France; (4) its relationship to the United States; and (5) the relatively recent establishment of bilateral relations with certain Arab states and very recent discussions of the future status of the Palestinians which have been partially necessitated by the need to restore Canada's credibility as a non-partisan actor as regards the affairs of the area. The successive governments of Canada from 1948 to 1982 will, through their policies, inform one as to the country's perception of its national interest in the Middle East. Through an historical presentation of Middle Eastern affairs, one is able to focus on the relationship between event and policy and is aided in formulating a judgment as to the appropriateness of Canadian policy in the region. The oil embargo--and the threat is posed to Canada's economy, the United Nations resolutions concerning the inalienable rights of the Palestinians, the Crime Congress fiasco--and the vocal opposition of Arab-Canadian interest groups, and the Arab denouncement of the Camp David Accords, drew into sharp focus the antithetical nature of a Canadian-Middle East foreign policy which was demonstrably pro-Israel. International circumstances and the national pursuit of Canadian national interests in the region were factors which would contribute to a more balanced Canadian-Middle East foreign policy.

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