Canadian Cultural Diplomacy and Transatlantic Musical Exchanges during the 1970s

Abstract This article traces Canada’s transatlantic musical exchanges with Europe during the 1970s, as facilitated by the Canadian Government’s Department of External Affairs’ (DEA) Cultural Affairs Division. Through an archival analysis of documentation pertaining to the planning activities of the Cultural Affairs Division, this article focuses on two all-Canadian musical events funded by the division: the 1972 performance of Canadian contemporary music in Rome, and the 1977 two-week long festival of Canadian contemporary music, Musicanada, hosted in London and Paris. This article argues that these two events act as useful case studies to demonstrate how the works of Canadian contemporary composers were used for strategic soft-power purposes by the DEA’s Cultural Affairs Division in fulfilling its transatlantic diplomatic aims of projecting an image of Canadian culture which was both distinct from the United States and would appeal to European cultural elites.