| 1870-1871 |
Sir John A. Macdonald is a member of the British
High Commission that negotiates Treaty of Washington |
| 1880 |
Appointment of Canadian High Commissioner to London,
Canada's first high-level representative abroad |
| 1887 |
Colonial Conference in London, the origins of
present—day Commonwealth conferences |
| 1899-1902 |
Participation by Canadian volunteers in the South
African War |
| 1909 |
Establishment of the Department of External Affairs |
| 1914 |
Declaration of war by King George V on behalf
of British Empire, Canada included |
| 1919 |
Canada signs the Treaty of Versailles, which ends
the war with Germany |
| 1919 |
Membership in the League of Nations |
| 1923 |
Halibut Treaty with the United States, the first
treaty negotiated and signed entirely by the federal government |
| 1926 |
Vincent Massey becomes Minister to Washington,
the first Canadian diplomat in a foreign country |
| 1931 |
Statute of Westminster, the British law that formally
recognizes Canada's independence |
| 1939 |
Canada enters World War II by separate declaration
of Canadian Parliament |
| 1945 |
Canada helps found the United Nations |
| 1945-1946 |
Gouzenko Affair brings the Cold War to Canada |
| 1947 |
Canada signs General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) |
| 1949 |
Canada contributes to the creation of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the first formal military
alliance in Canada's peacetime history |
| 1950 |
Membership in the Colombo Plan, the Commonwealth
program of development assistance |
| 1950-1953 |
Participation with other members of United Nations
in Korean War |
| 1956 |
Resolution of the Suez Crisis and creation of
the United Nations Emergency Force |
| 1957 |
Lester B. Pearson wins Nobel Peace Prize |
| 1957 |
Canada joins the North American air (now Aerospace)
Defence (NORAD) Command |
| 1965 |
Autopact with U.S. |
| 1970 |
Trudeau government releases Foreign Policy for
Canadians |
| 1972 |
Department of External Affairs' Third Option Paper
calls for reassessment of Canadian-American relations |
| 1975 |
Membership in the Group of Seven leading industrialized
countries (G-7) |
| 1975 |
"Contractual Link" with European Community |
| 1979-1980 |
"Canadian Caper" brings U.S. Embassy
staff out of Iran |
| 1982 |
Patriation of the Canadian Constitution |
| 1983-1984 |
Trudeau Peace Initiative |
| 1985 |
"Shamrock Summit," Mulroney meets Reagan
in Quebec City |
| 1986 |
Canada, Quebec and New Brunswick attend the first
Francophone Summit |
| 1988 |
Signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with U.S. |
| 1989 |
Pacific 2000 Initiative looks to the Far East |
| 1990 |
Membership in the Organization of American States
(OAS) |
| 1990 |
Open Skies Conference, Ottawa |
| 1991 |
Canadian participation in Persian Gulf War |
| 1991 |
Negotiations with U.S. and Mexico toward a North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) |
