Canadian Interest in and interactions with the Pacific Region have increased dramatically since 1968 when Prime Minister Trudeau formed his first cabinet. The new development in Canadian relations with the Pacific is most noticeable in the economic sphere; in 1973 Japan replaced Britain as Canada's most important trading partner second to the United States, and in 1983, the Pacific region as a whole secured second place as Canada's most important market for exports, demoting Western Europe to third.
It is against this background that this paper examines the impact of the Prime Minister on the development of Canadian relations with the Pacific in general and with Japan in particular. At the same time, it explores the relevance of individual level-of-analysis in explaining Canada's foreign behaviour.
Generally the Canadian prime minister can exercise considerable power in foreign policymaking. Accordingly, the attitude and views of the prime minister toward diplomacy and external relations significantly affects Canada's relations with the outside world.
Although Prime Minister Trudeau had neither a particular interest in foreign affairs nor a comprehensive and concrete vision concerning all external relations, he greatly influenced Canadian diplomacy in two ways. First, he transformed the framework of foreign policymaking. This means that his preferences greatly affected the delicate power balance among actors in the policymaking process. Second, he broadly defined the nature and direction of Canadian diplomacy.
Prime Minister Trudeau was interested in the Pacific and made a great effort to develop and promote Canadian relations with Japan in particular and the Pacific in general. First, he increased the awareness that Canada is a Pacific power and that the Far East is ‘Canada's New West’. Second, by intensifying interactions with countries in the Pacific at all intergovernmental levels formally and informally through both bilateral and multilateral means, Trudeau skillfully broadened and strengthened the framework of Canadian diplomatic ties with them. From this starting point, economic, cultural, and other relations could be steadily cultivated.
There are several factors which led Prime Minister Trudeau to develop Canada's relations with the Pacific. First, he wanted to reduce the overwhelming impact of the southern neighbour by developing Canadian ties with the Pacific in general and with Japan in particular so that the latter could function as a ‘counterweight’ to the United States. Second, the economic importance of the Pacific was increasing as exemplified in the growth of Canadian trade with the region. Third, the development of Pacific ties was designed to gain Western political support for the Liberals, since this was believed to symbolize the recognition of and support for the needs of the Western Provinces which were relatively highly dependent on exports to the Pacific and felt alienated from the Liberal government in Ottawa.
Finally, this paper concludes with three hypotheses concerning the power of the prime minister in Canadian foreign policymaking. First, the Canadian prime minister can exert influence powerful enough to transform the machinery of policymaking. Second, if the prime minister has a concrete foreign policy or vision, it is likely that it would be incorporated into and implemented as a national policy. Third, even if he does not have a concrete foreign policy in all external relations, his attitude, perception or personality may greatly determine the nature and direction of Canadian diplomacy.
These hypotheses require further examination and refinement through other case studies. However, if the Canadian prime minister is very influencial in foreign policy making, the approach which focuses on him may prove to be highly relevant and useful in explaining Canadian external behaviour.

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