“The first volume of Documents on Canadian External Relations was published in 1967, as Canada celebrated its first century of nationhood. Since then, volumes in this series have dealt with various periods in the history of Canadian foreign policy, from the Laurier era up to the Pearson years in government. The series currently includes 29 regular volumes and has reprinted over 20,000 documents, totalling almost 40,000 pages of text, making it the largest historical documentary project in Canada. The subject of this special volume, the Arctic, has an ever-growing importance for Canada as we approach our federation's 150th anniversary. This volume illuminates how and why Canada asserted its sovereignty over the Far North between 1874 and 1949, and it demonstrates how much Canadians today owe to the nation builders of the past”--Preface, p. [vi].