Secret Service: Political Policing in Canada From the Fenians to Fortress America
Reginald Whitaker
Secret Service provides the first comprehensive history of political policing in Canada – from its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century, through two world wars and the Cold War to the more recent 'war on terror.' This book reveals the extent, focus, and politics of government-sponsored surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations.
Drawing on previously classified government records, the authors reveal that for over 150 years, Canada has run spy operations largely hidden from public or parliamentary scrutiny – complete with undercover agents, secret sources, agent provocateurs, coded communications, elaborate files, and all the usual apparatus of deception and betrayal so familiar to fans of spy fiction. As they argue, what makes Canada unique among Western countries is its insistent focus of its surveillance inwards, and usually against Canadian citizens.
Secret Service highlights the many tensions that arise when undercover police and their covert methods are deployed too freely in a liberal democratic society. It will prove invaluable to readers attuned to contemporary debates about policing, national security, and civil rights in a post-9/11 world.
Product Details
About Reginald Whitaker
Reviews for Secret Service: Political Policing in Canada From the Fenians to Fortress America
Dennis Molinaro
Canadian Historical Review, vol 94:01:2013
‘An excellent history… Deeply scholarly yet refreshing unacademic in its tone and temper, the text bridges with considerable skill the requirements of rigorous, measured analysis of a wide variety of sources that is inherent in good history… The book deserves to be widely read.’
Jez Littlewood
Literary Review of Canada vol 21:04:2013
‘This book, rich in both detail and analysis, is the definitive source on political policing in Canada. It should be of interest to all those interested in Canadian history as well as to specialists in the history of policing and intelligence.’
Kent Roach
Law and History Review, May 2014
‘This is a must read for anyone interested in intelligence in Canada… It is also a very important study for those interested in how the boundaries of race, class, gender, and difference were coercively enforced by a secret state within the state.’
Jeremy Buddenhagen
BC Studies number 182: summer 2014
‘Secret Service provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Canada’s capabilities and objectives in political policing… The information is presented in a refreshingly jargon-free manner.’
Curtis Robinson
Canadian Military History vol 24:02:2015