1. Canada and the Cold War

2. NATO and The Warsaw Pact
The tension between communism and democracy would become known as the Cold War and would manifest itself in battles in Korea, Vietnam, Egypt, and Cuba.
Defensive posturing would result in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of democratic countries and the Warsaw Pact, an alliance of communist countries.
The hope of N.A.T.O. was to stop or limit the spread of communism, the “red menace”.

3. Planning for Peace: The United Nations
The United Nations, a predecessor to the ineffective League of Nations, was created in in San Francisco formulated on the principle of collective security.
This organization could publicly condemn offending nations, impose economic boycotts, and engage military force through its Security Council.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are: Great Britain, France, the U.S.A., Russia, and China (they all have the power of “veto”).

4. Planning for Peace: The United Nations
Canada would be an active member of the U.N. participating in many aspects of the organizations structure.
Canada would be a member of the prestigious Security Council in every decade of the U.N.’s existence.
It would be Lester B. Pearson, who would become Prime Minister of Canada in 1963, who suggested a solution to the Suez Crisis with the deployment of an international peace keeping force to maintain the peace.

5. Planning for Peace: The United Nations
The United Nations is committed to the betterment of people’s lives through its many agencies including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the International Monetary Fund.
Canada has participated in many of these agencies as well as development projects, aid during natural disasters, and refugee assistance.

6. Towards a More Independent Defence Policy
Military apprehension would lead Canada to closer ties with the U.S.A (and decreasing association with Great Britain).
Canada would commit to the N.O.R.A.D agreement in 1957, a combined defensive effort of North America by combined Canadian and American efforts (mostly American).

7. Towards a More Independent Defence Policy
The Americans would install three “warning systems” throughout Canada purposed to intercept inter-continental ballistic missiles that if launched would travel over Canada on their way to either the U.S.A. or Russia.
Canada would keep an army brigade and several air squadrons in Europe and Canadians ships and planes would track Russian submarines.

8. Key Battles & Conflicts
The Korean War
Suez Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
Avro Arrow
The Nuclear Issue
Vietnam War

9. Korean War [ ]

10. Korean War [ ]
What was the situation in Korea after the Second World War?
America’s policy was to contain Communism
In 1949, China became Communist and it seemed like containment had failed in Asia.
Korea was ruled by Japan, but at the end of World War II, it was divided between the USA and the USSR along the 38th parallel until a government could be elected to run the whole country.
August 1948, the Americans set up the Republic of Korea in the south, with Syngman Rhee as the first president. A month later, the Russians set up the Korean People’s Democratic Republic in the north, ruled by Kim II Sung, a Red Army captain. Each man claimed to represent the whole country.

11. Korean War [1950-1953] Kim Il-Sung Syngman Rhee
The domino theory was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s, that speculated that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect.
Syngman Rhee

12. Korean War [ ]

13. Korean War [ ]

14. Causes of the Korean War Cont’d
By 1946 Rhee was appealing for an end to the division of his country.
The States felt that the United Nations should decide what should be done. However, in the mean time the Soviets created in N. Korea the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, under the control of the communist guerrilla leader, Kim Il-Sung.
On June 25th, the forces of N. Korea crossed the 38th Parallel into the Republic of Korea which marked the beginning of hostilities which would last for 3 years.

15. Causes of the Korean War Cont’d
The invasion was seen as an act of aggression and the United Nations ordered North Korea to evacuate---they didn’t.
President Truman ordered the U.S. Navy and Air Force to support S.Korea by any means.
N.Korea were pushing hard and were able to move into the capital, Seoul. However, U.N. forces quickly pushed them back towards the border of Manchuria in Southern China.
However, Communist Chinese intervened and launched a massive offensive which drove the U.N. and S. Korean armies back across the 38th parallel and well into the south.

16. Why did Canada get involved?
Involvement with the United Nations
Close ties with the States.
And a prospect of war in Europe again.
Canada fought under the U.N. forces joining the fight against N.Korea and China. While the Canadians did suffer casualties, by April of 1951 they had pushed the enemy back over the 38th parallel.

17. How did it come to an end???
Early in July 1951, at the Communist’s request, cease fire negotiations began.
The talks would continue on for two years, with suspicion that the Communists were stalling to gain military advantage.
However, in October the Chinese launched another series of attacks which would last until 1953.
Fighting in Korea finally came to an end when the Korean Armistice (an agreement to stop fighting while a peace settlement is reached) was signed on July 27th, 1953.

18. The Korean War Epilogue nearly 30 000 troops served in action
1558 total casualties for Canadians
once again, Canada made participated beyond her size as a nation
QUESTION: The UN emerged from the Korean War with its prestige enhanced. Why do you think that was?

19. The Suez Crisis
The Suez Canal is an important shipping route in the Middle East.
The canal was privately owned in 1955 by a British Company , but was on Egyptian territory.
The Egyptian President was angry at Western leaders over a dam project they did not support, so, he seized control of the canal.

20. The Suez Crisis
The Canal was an important trade route to the middle east, and economically would benefit Egypt.
Great Britain tried to have the Egyptian President replaced, planted the seed that the Soviets were backing Egypt and than had Israel start a conflict with Egypt in order to get their way.
The United Nations supported democracy but did not want the crisis to escalate anymore so they became involved.

21. The Suez Crisis
Canadian diplomat - Lester Pearson - proposed that a UN emergency force be sent to the Canal Zone to separate and mediate between the opposing sides.
Lead by a Canadian general, the force was composed of troops from countries not involved in the conflict.

22. The Suez Crisis
His plan worked and a peaceful resolution to a conflict that had threatened to involve Israel and the Soviet Union was reached.
For his part, Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

23. Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1958, Fidel Castro overthrew the US backed government of Cuba and made it a Communist country.
Cuba is less than 150 km from Florida.

24. Cuban Missile Crisis
The US mounted a failed invasion of Cuba in 1961 in an attempt to overthrow the Communists. Even though the plan was former President Eisenhower's idea, President JFK agreed to go through with it when he took office.
14, 000 men landed in the Bay of Pigs and were crushed by Castro – absolute disaster.
This prompted the Cubans to turn to the Soviets for support and for the Soviets to loose respect for JFK who they now thought was to young and inexperienced. The Soviets would continue to test JFK’s power.

25. Cuban Missile Crisis
Because the Soviets wanted an ally and they wanted to test JFK they decided to arm Cuba with missiles.
In 1962, American spy planes photographed Nuclear Missile bases on Cuba. This made the American President very angry and brought the two to the brink of war.
MAD- meaning ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’. This was the reality of the atomic age that people had to begin to live with. It was the realization that if the two superpowers ever went to war directly with each other that the whole world would be wiped out.

26. Cuban Missile Crisis
The US expected full support from Canada, its defense partner, and to put Candian forces on alert.
Canadian Prime Minister Diefenbaker did not support the American plan and failed to answer American requests for assistance for two days. He accused the Americans of pressuring
This infuriated the Americans.
"This action by the State Department of the U.S. is unprecedented...it constitutes an unwarranted intrusion in Canadian affairs... [Canada] will not be pushed around or accept external domination or interference in making its decisions." "President Kennedy was going to obliterate us. I dared to say to him that Canada's policies would be made in Canada by Canadians.”
Diefenbaker

27. Cuban Missile Crisis
The PM thought he was looking out for Canada’s independence, but polls showed that 80% of Canadians thought he did the wrong thing.
JFK was warned to not act to hastily and see if some type of compromise could be meet…..so instead of starting an all out war he instituted a naval blockade. American ships blocked all Soviet ships from reaching Cuba. The two sides had a standoff.

28. Cuban Missile Crisis
However, the crisis was defused in 13 days after both sides decided to come to a compromise. The Americans traded the dismantling of bases in Turkey and the promise of never invading Cuba for the dismantling of the Cuban bases.
QUESTION: Do you think that Canada should have gotten involved in this crisis or was the Prime Minister correct on staying out of it? (Think about Canadian/American ties at this point in time.)

29. The homefront
The Cold War was brought home to Canada by the Gouzenko Affair.
Igor Gouzenko, a clerk at the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa exposed a Soviet spy ring in Canada in Newspaper headlines read: “It’s War! It’s Russia!”. When he fled the embassy he brought with him a number of documents, drafted in Russian, that proved the existence of a spy ring in Canada.
18 people were arrested with 8 eventually convicted of spying - likely trying to get Atomic Bomb secrets.

30. The Nuclear Issue in Canada
In the 1960’s tensions existed between the presidents of the U.S.A. and Canadian prime ministers, probably a result of a lack of total commitment by Canada to U.S. defence efforts.
Both Prime Ministers Diefenbaker and Pearson would have confrontations with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
Canada was hesitant during the Cuban missile crisis and Pearson was hesitant to allow nuclear warheads on American missiles on Canadian soil.

31. The Avro Arrow
A shining moment occurred with the development of the Avro Arrow, a supersonic jet fighter. The A.V Roe of Malton, Ontario were charged with job of creating up to 600 planes at the cost of $2 Million each.
It was well ahead of its time technologically, however, it was very expensive to make and problems occurred right away when the air force cut its order to just 100 plane. Efforts were made to find foreign buys but with no luck. The first Avro was available the same day that the Soviets sent the Sputnik I satellite into orbit.
Unfortunately the project would be scrapped by the Diefenbaker government who maintained modern day warfare would be fought with intercontinental missiles rather than jet fighters.

32. The AVRO Arrow

33. The Avro Arrow
It was also a Liberal inspired project and Diefenbaker was a Conservative.
Some thought the project was submarined by the U.S.A. because they had not developed the technology.
However, it’s ironic that most of the world’s minor conflicts since then have utilized jet fighters almost exclusively.

34. The Nuclear Issue
The Canadian government continued to struggle with the question of whether or not to accept nuclear weapons on Canadian soil.

35. The Nuclear Issue
Diefenbaker waffled on the idea when he accepted Beaumarc Missiles - designed for a nuclear payload - but never armed them with warheads.

36. The Nuclear Issue
In 1963 the issue was at the centre of the election campaign.
Diefenbaker fought his campaign on an anti- American platform, while Liberal leader Lester Pearson (remember the Peace Prize), ran on a policy of accepting nuclear weapons.
Pearson won the election narrowly.
However, later nuclear weapons were accepted.

37. Vietnam War
Like Korea, a communist North fought a capitalist South in Vietnam.
The US supported the South while the Soviets and the Chinese supported the North.
By the Americans were involved in a massive bombing operation and had committed troops to the Vietnam war.

38. Vietnam War
Prime Minister Pearson openly criticized the US bombing policy and was physically assaulted by the American President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ).

39. Vietnam War The Vietnam war was the first war to be televised.
The coverage showed the horrors of the war and lead to growing opposition in both the US and Canada.
Demonstrators would shout: “Hey Hey LBJ! How many kids have you killed today?”.

40. Vietnam War
Young men from the US (draft dodgers) came to Canada to escape participation in the war.
Canada was becoming known as a peaceful nation - less violent than the US.

41. Vietnam War
By 1975, the United States withdrew from Vietnam in large part due to pressure put on them by their own people. It was a failure on many levels.

42. Trudeau’s Foreign Policy
In 1968 Pierre Elliott Trudeau would become Prime Minster of Canada following on the heels of L.B. Pearson.
He wanted to become less dependent on the U.S.A.
He officially recognized the communist government of China contrary to American opinion and ordered nuclear missiles removed from Canadian NATO forces in Europe.
He dismantled BOMARC missile bases in Canada and ordered the defence budget cut.
He reduced Canada’s NATO contingent in Europe by half.

43. Let’s Think About It
Hot 10
Rate the Decisions Made by Canada’s Government in each of the situations. Use a scale of 1 to being Poor to 10 being Excellent .
Cold 1
Cuban Missile Crisis
Korea Suez
Nuclear Issue
Vietnam