After CONFEDERATION in 1867, British diplomats continued to handle Canada's boundary disputes and treaty negotiations with other countries. In 1909 Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier created the Department of External Affairs. Under a distinguished civil servant, Sir Joseph POPE, and a handful of clerks, the department functioned as an archive, issued passports to Canadians travelling abroad, provided the focus for liaison with the British COLONIAL OFFICE and foreign consuls in Canada, and handled routine relations with the US. Diplomacy, however, remained largely in the hands of the British. Transformation to a proper foreign office began in the mid-1920s under Prime Minister Mackenzie King and his undersecretary of state for external affairs, O.D. SKELTON.
As Canada acquired more autonomy within the COMMONWEALTH, it needed its own diplomatic representatives abroad. A foreign service was established and, between 1925 and 1929, a Dominion of Canada Advisory Office was opened in Geneva and diplomatic legations were established at Washington, Paris and Tokyo. During and after WWII, additional posts were opened and Canada emerged as a MIDDLE POWER. With the department as their headquarters, Canadian diplomats played important roles in creating the UNITED NATIONS, NATO and various PEACEKEEPING forces.
In 1981-82 a restructuring of government departments brought INTERNATIONAL TRADE, EXPORT promotion and IMMIGRATION POLICY under the department's control. Responsibility for the CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY soon followed. In 1992 the immigration function was returned to that department and the next year the Investment Development Division of Investment Canada was integrated into the external affairs department. In the fall of 1993, the department's name was changed to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
The department's headquarters in the Lester B. Pearson Building on Ottawa's Sussex Drive co-ordinates the activities of dozens of posts all over the world. The department's primary responsibility is to promote and protect Canada's interests abroad and to conduct the country's relations with other countries. The department provides policy guidance to other government departments and agencies; plans and interprets the international impact of domestic decisions; ensures international representation of Canadian interests through its ambassadors, high commissioners and consuls; negotiates international agreements; fosters an awareness and understanding of Canada abroad; and provides assistance and guidance to Canadians travelling and working abroad.
