The (im)polite world of diplomacy: Canadian arms sales to Argentina and other Latin American countries, 1945--1957

The general subject of this thesis is Canada's Latin American policies since the early 1940s. Specifically, it focuses on the sale of Canadian arms and equipment to Argentina and other Latin American countries from 1945 to 1957 as a reflection of the nature and development of Canadian foreign policy. This period, sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age" of Canadian diplomacy, has often presented Canadian policy makers as naive idealists. 1 This picture is far from complete however, as demonstrated by the activities and policies presented in this study.; Most of the information in this thesis is from sources obtained from the Canadian archives in Ottawa during the spring of 2003. Some documents were difficult to declassify and acquire; this study reflects this availability of sources, as well as a deficiency in the amount of secondary materials addressing the subjects involved.; 1See for example, D. G. Creighton's presentation of Lester Pearson in Canada: 1939--1957 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1976), 160; and Desmond Morton on Canadian foreign policy in Canada and War (Toronto: Butterworths, 1981), 158--59.