On 2011-05-03, headed by Dr. Dongyan Blachford, Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research,University of Regina(U.of R.), a group of 29 delegates from the U. of R. , 4 Professors and 25 students, visited the CASS/IEA.

Scholars from IEA commented on the questions from the students of the U. of R., on the topics of economic development, cultural heritage protection, and minority issues in China and Canada. IEA Scholars also exchanged views after the meeting with Regina Professors,Dr. Dongyan Blachford, Dr. John Meehan, Dr. Philip Charrier and Professor LIU li from U.of R.

Dr. John Meehan, Assistant Professor of History at Campion College, had a lecture in IEA, on the topic “Pacific Partners: The Evolution of Canada’s Relationship with China, 1858 -1970”. Canada’s Ambassador to China, Mr. David Mulroney, attended this lecture and commented the Canada-China’s early relationship.

Dr. John Meehan presented that long before the Trudeau government recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1970, Canada had developed commercial, political and even diplomatic interests in China.  He explores the origins of these initiatives on the part of Canadian missionaries, traders and government officials for whom China represented a land of promise.  From early missionary activity to Mackenzie King’s visit to Shanghai in 1909 to the establishment of an embassy in China in 1943, these relations were promising but often fraught with challenges. By portraying these early years as a formative period for Sino-Canadian relations, this presntation suggests there was a certain asymmetry in the relationship.  On the one hand, cultural differences and geopolitical concerns hampered the development of relations until the Pacific war forged a consensus on issues that had been illusive in peacetime.  For the first time, Canada and China achieved a high degree of mutuality in trade, immigration and diplomatic representation.  After the war, however, relations were again undermined by geopolitical concerns that led Canada to defer its initial decision to recognize the PRC by twenty years. In contrast to such obstacles, personal ties and goodwill on both sides have led Canada and China to deepen their relationship over time.  The investment of human capital and other resources has been significant for both countries, helping them evolve into their current status as Pacific partners.

Dr. John Meehan is an expert in Canadian diplomatic history, he has written two books on the evolution of Canada’s relations with East Asia.  His first book, The Dominion and the Rising Sun: Canada Encounters the Rising Sun, 1929-1941 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2004) won the Prime Minister’s award from the Canadian embassy in Tokyo in 2006 for translation and publication into Japanese.  His second book, Chasing the Dragon in Shanghai: Canada’s Early Relations with China, 1858-1952 will be published by UBC Press in Fall 2011.  Prior to his doctoral work at the University of Toronto, Dr. Meehan studied history and international relations at McGill University (Montreal), Magdalen College (Oxford) and Johns Hopkins-School of Advanced International Studies (Washington, DC).
(Reported by the Canadian Studies Center of CASS/IEA)