A Bridge to the World, a Passport to Our Future

A passionate argument for Canada's reassertion of its place on the world stage, from a former prime minister and one of Canada's most respected political figures.

In the world that is taking shape, the unique combination of Canada's success at home as a diverse society and its reputation internationally as a sympathetic and respected partner consititute national assets that are at least as valuable as its natural resource wealth. As the world becomes more competitive and complex, and the chances of deadly conflict grow, the example and the initiative of Canada can become more important than they have ever been. That depends on its people: assets have no value if Canadians don't recognize or use them, or worse, if they waste them.

A more effective Canada is not only a benefit to itself, but to its friends and neighbours. And in this compelling examination of what it as a nation has been, what it has become and what it can yet be to the world, Joe Clark takes the reader beyond formal foreign policy and looks at the contributions and leadership offered by Canada's most successful individuals and organizations who are already putting these uniquely Canadian assets to work internationally.

JOE CLARK was elected in 1979 as Canada's sixteenth and youngest prime minister. During the Mulroney government, he served as minister of external affairs from 1984 to 1991, and as president of the Privy Council and minister responsible for constitutional affairs from 1991 to 1993. After several years away from public life he was elected again to the House of Commons in 2000, where he represented Calgary Centre until leaving politics in 2004. He now works as a political and business consultant in Ottawa, where he lives with his wife, Maureen McTeer.