The architects of Canada's international coming of age

Published February 24, 2010

In September 1929, Herbert Marler arrived in Tokyo as Canada's first-ever ambassador to Japan, a country with which Canadians were woefully ignorant. Possessed of a large personality and filled with energy and optimism, Mr. Marler was convinced Canada's diplomatic entrance into the increasingly tense Pacific region would be welcomed.

By the time he left seven years later, his reputation was in tatters...