The fonds consists of Dafoe's personal and political records, including diaries, correspondence, speeches, editorials, articles, memoranda, reports and news clippings. Included are two unpublished diaries: one written in 1919 while Dafoe attended the Paris Peace Conference, and the other written in 1923 while at the Imperial Conference. Correspondence ranges from 1896 to 1944 and is most complete in the years immediately after the First World War. Dafoe had many correspondents all over the world, most of whom dealt with public affairs, economic and political issues, and international activities. Included in the fonds are sixty-six speeches, mostly of a political nature, and which range in date from 1911 to 1943. There is also a collection of his writings, including his Manitoba Free Press editorials from July to October of 1917, and 25 reports and research compilations on a variety of subjects. Newspaper clippings include reviews of his books and articles. Other miscellaneous material includes the Dafoe family tree, memorials written by friends and peers, and a semi-biographical sketch of Dafoe's early years written by his sister, Mrs E. Emerson. Archives & Special Collections also houses an ancillary collection, in microform format (MF 15), of his printed Manitoba Free Press editorials from 1928 to 1944.