Jack Austin served as a cabinet minister in both the Trudeau and Martin governments and represented British Columbia for over three decades in the Senate. In the 1970s, he served as federal deputy minister of Energy, Mines, and Resources (during the oil crisis), and then Principal Secretary to Trudeau Sr., who later became a travelling companion. Since 2008, he has been an honorary professor at UBC's Institute of Asian Research. His memoir, Unlikely insider, is more than a personal journey; it ruminates on some of the most pressing political issues animating Canadian public life: the move away from a colonial relationship with First Nations peoples, Canada-China relations, bilateral relations with the US, economic security, and the defense of domestic sovereignty. Inclusion, at both the regional and demographic levels, is an import theme recurring throughout the chapters.

Becoming a British Columbian -- The Influence of Art Laing -- Ups and Downs in a Resource Economy -- Deputy Minister in the Eye of the Storm: An Oil Crisis, and More -- Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister -- The Evolving Senate -- The Expo 86 Backstory -- One Minister, Many Files -- My Introduction to China -- Building the Canada-China Relationship -- The American Elephant and the Aztec Eagle -- Recognition and Reconciliation -- Travels with Pierre.