Internationalism and the Canadian public

Internationalism has long been central to Canadian foreign policy. Although often invoked by governments and individuals, and much debated, it remains an ill-defined, even obscure concept. This article assesses empirically ho w the Canadian public regards internationalism, and explores the underlying structure of internationalist attitudes. Public opinion data from 1985 pro vide evidence of four dimensions of attitudes: active, economic, liberal -c onservative and independent internationalism. There is a strong consensus o n the first two types of internationalism but no such consensus behind the others. Scattered data from across the post-Second World War period seem to support these findings. Using such a typology of internationalism may both illuminate debates on Canadian foreign policy and advance studies of Canad ian public attitudes.