The political economy of Canadian foreign policy in Vietnam

This thesis seeks to determine the nature and character of Canada's foreign policy towards Vietnam.Dependent upon Southeast Asian stability for strategic resources, a merchandise surplus and the expansion of the American economy, Canada also benefitted directly through increased exports of staple goods, automotive parts and war material.Ottawa's record on the International Control Commissions was characterized by partisan voting, complicity in the violation of the Geneva and Paris Agreements and the rationalization of Washington's strategy.Canadian aid, dispensed only to Saigon, was a co-ordinated part of American pacification programs.The purpose of Ottawa's policy was to ensure the permanent division of Vietnam while the ultimate intention and consequence was to legitimate the U.S. intervention. Underlying Ottawa's decision-making was Canada's integration into the world market system and the unequal, albeit voluntary, alliance between the economic elites of Canada and the United States