An early effort in cultural diplomacy: The Canadian Co-operation Project and Canadian tourism
| Author | David MacKenzie |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702013511185 |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Scholarly Essays |
International Journal
68(4) 576–590
!The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702013511185
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Scholarly Essay
An early effort in
cultural diplomacy:
The Canadian
Co-operation Project
and Canadian tourism
David MacKenzie
Department of History, Ryerson University, Toronto,
ON, Canada
Abstract
The Canadian Co-operation Project (CCP) was one of the more unusual episodes in
the economic and cultural relationship of Canada and the United States. Conceived
between the federal government and the Hollywood film industry, the 1948 agreement
called on Hollywood to produce more films in Canada and to make efforts to promote
American tourism in Canada. The paper argues that the CCP was less the surrender to
Hollywood than is generally understood and more an early example of cultural diplo-
macy in which the Canadian government used cultural relations with the United States
for its own ends, primarily the promotion of tourism in Canada.
Keywords
Canadian cultural diplomacy, film, Hollywood, tourism, Canadian Co-operation Project
Writing from Florida in mid-winter 1941, C.F. Crandall of Canada’s Wartime
Information Board expressed his growing doubts about the value of Canadian
advertising in American magazines as a way of attracting American tourists to
Canada. ‘‘It would amuse you to see,’’ he wrote Prime Minister Mackenzie
King, ‘‘how little the people who come down here for the winter read.’’ He was
equally pessimistic about radio advertising: ‘‘I only know two people here who
have radios and the curiosity to listen even to war news.’’ His advice was to focus
Canadian advertising ‘‘along the lines of film publicity,’’ and Crandall added that
Corresponding author:
David MacKenzie, Department of History, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON,
M5B 2K3, Canada.
Email: dmackenz@ryerson.ca
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