Canada in the Post-War World - Weebly

130 Unit I ■ Canada in the Twentieth Century

Horse and Train by Alex Colville. The end ofWorld War II did not bring world peace, as many hadhoped. Tension between the United States and the SovietUnion increased, and the threat of nuclear war was everpresent. The sense of confrontation in this paintingreflects the tensions of the post-war period.

Expressing ideas Alex Colville painted Horse and Trainin 1954, when it was clear to everyone that the so-calledCold War was underway. Why do you think Colvillechose a horse and train as his subjects? How would youdescribe the mood of this painting?

Canada in the Post-WarWorld

FOCUS ON

• What was the Cold War,and what was Canada’srole in it?

• Why was globalization ofthe economy an issue bythe end of the twentiethcentury?

• What were Canada’spost-war relations with theUnited States and with thedeveloping world?

• How did Canada’sinvolvement in U.N.peacekeeping, NORAD,and NATO affect the wayCanadians saw themselvesas a nation?

Counterpoints Issue

• What role should Canadaplay in U.S.-dominatedmilitary alliances?

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Chapter 6 ■ Canada in the Post-War World 131

IntroductionOn a hot evening in September 1945, IgorGouzenko, a Russian clerk at the Soviet embassyin Ottawa, left work with several documents hid-den under his clothes. These papers proved thata Soviet spy ring was operating within theCanadian government. Gouzenko was enjoyinglife in Ottawa, and he had decided to defect fromthe Soviet Union to Canada.

Gouzenko took the documents to the OttawaJournal and tried to convince the newspaper ofthe Soviet spies’ existence. No one paid attention.The next day, fearing for his life, and with his preg-nant wife and child in tow, Gouzenko tried again.This time, he went to the offices of the RCMP,the department of justice, and the prime minister’soffice. Again, his efforts were in vain. Only whenSoviet agents broke into Gouzenko’s apartmentdid the Ottawa police finally listen to his story.Shocked Canadian officials secretly informed theBritish and U.S. governments that a Soviet spyring had been operating in Canada.

On a grey February dawn in 1946, the RCMProunded up several people suspected of beingSoviet spies. They kept the suspects in isolation,without charge, and without legal counsel.

Eventually, eighteen people were brought to trial;eight were found guilty and imprisoned.

The spy ring was likely trying to discover thesecrets of the atomic bomb, but it appeared thatthe Soviets had learned very little. The Gouzenkoaffair did, however, startle Canadians into the newera of foreign affairs.

During World War II, the United States andthe Soviet Union had been allies. Nevertheless,they had little in common except for their oppo-sition to the Axis powers. Once the war was over,tensions between the two countries surfaced. Thetwo powers were soon openly hostile towards eachother, though they were careful not to start a newwar. Instead, they used espionage (spies) andhelped their allies in “little wars” and revolutions.Both East and West built stockpiles of conven-tional arms, powerful nuclear weapons, biologi-cal and chemical weapons, long-range bombers,missiles, and atomic submarines.

Post-war tensions between the Soviet Unionand the United States forced Canada to align it-self closely with U.S. interests. At the same time,Canada tried to remain true to the goals and as-pirations of Canadians—no easy task. Throughthe early part of the twentieth century, Canadahad achieved independence from Britain; in the

Figure 6-1 Igor Gouzenko andhis family were given newidentities and settled inOntario. Gouzenko wrote abook about his experiences andoccasionally appeared in public,as in this television interview.He always wore a hood for fearthat the KGB, the Soviet SecretService, would kill him if theydiscovered his new identity.

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latter half, it struggled to keep U.S. influencesfrom weakening its national identity. In this chap-ter, you will examine the various ways Canadatried to fulfil its commitment to international or-ganizations while maintaining sovereignty over itspolicies.

the Soviet Union and the United States madethem superpowers, each capable of inflictingmassive destruction. As a result of this destruc-tive capability, the two superpowers did not fighta direct war between themselves. To do so wouldhave meant nuclear annihilation. Instead, theycompeted for political influence in other parts ofthe world, especially in developing nations thatwere poorer and less politically stable than them-selves. This rivalry between the two superpowerswas called the Cold War because it did not eruptinto an open war. It was to last over forty years.

The roots of the Cold War lay in the differ-ing views these two countries had on political andeconomic systems. The Soviet Union was com-munist; the government controlled all industryand commerce. Under communism, no politicalopposition was tolerated. The United States andmost Western countries were capitalist. Theireconomies were based on private enterprise, withindividuals investing in business for profit. Citizenshad basic freedoms such a free press and free-dom of speech.

Western countries were suspicious of com-munism. As in earlier decades, they feared thatcommunists aimed to overthrow Western soci-eties in a world revolution. The Soviet Union, forits part, was suspicious of its previous allies. Itbelieved that the Western countries might try toinvade Soviet territory through Europe, particu-larly through East Germany.

To create a buffer between the USSR andWestern Europe, the Soviets took over the coun-tries of Eastern Europe and established com-munist governments there. Then communiststook over China in 1949, and the former govern-ment fled to Taiwan. The United States took dras-tic action to stop any spread of communism onits home front. The U.S. Congress establisheda Committee on Un-American Activities to rootout communists from all areas of public life. Thiscommittee was chaired by Senator JosephMcCarthy, who terrified the nation with secretlists of supposed communists in government,universities, the entertainment industry, and eventhe Girl Scouts. Anyone suspected of being acommunist could be persecuted, fired, and black-listed (prevented from finding another job).

1945 World War II ends.

United Nations is created.

1949 United States, Canada, and ten Westerncountries form NATO.

Communists take over China.

1950 North Korea invades South Korea; KoreanWar begins.

1955 Soviet Union and many Eastern Europeancountries form Warsaw Pact.

1956 Lester Pearson, as Canada’s Minister ofExternal Affairs, works to defuse the Suez crisis.

1957 Progressive Conservative leader JohnDiefenbaker becomes prime minister.

1961–1975 Vietnam War is fought.

1961 Berlin Wall is built, dividing Berlin into eastand west.

1962 Cuban missile crisis threatens world peace.

1963 Liberal leader Lester Pearson defeatsDiefenbaker and becomes prime minister.

1979 USSR invades Afghanistan.

1989 Berlin Wall is destroyed, marking symbolicend of Cold War.

Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement isimplemented.

1991 Canada participates in the Gulf War.

1994 Canada joins NAFTA.

1999 Canadian air force joins NATO attacks onYugoslavia.

The Cold War BeginsWhile Canadians and other allied countries cele-brated the end of World War II, they soon real-ized that the world was about to become involvedin another kind of war. The military strength of

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The Cold War at HomeWhile Canadians saw little of the hysteria and“witch-hunting” that took place during theMcCarthy era in the United States, they wereshocked to learn that a communist spy ring hadbeen operating in Canada during the war.

In 1949, the leader of the Conservative Partytried to make the spread of communism, or the“red menace”—the term used to describe theSoviets—an issue. He accused the governmentof harbouring communists in the civil service.Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, however, re-

fused to outlaw communism. He remindedCanadians that such tactics were the trademarksof dictatorships, not democracies.

Nevertheless, some Canadians continued tofear the spread of communism. Union leaderswho fought for better conditions for workers cameunder suspicion. Defence industries secretly sentlists of their employees to Ottawa for screening.Workers suspected of communist sympathiesfound themselves dismissed for no apparent rea-son. The RCMP Special Branch watched thosewho “might be or might become” a security risk,including artists, peace activists, union leaders,and intellectuals who were seen in any way tocriticize the Canadian government. In Quebec,Premier Maurice Duplessis took a strong standagainst communism. Police raided offices and pri-vate homes in search of “revolutionary” material.The Padlock Law was used to shut down sus-pected organizations and newspapers. When apoorly constructed bridge collapsed in Trois-Rivières in 1951, Duplessis blamed communistsabotage.

NATO and the WarsawPactThe United States took the lead in founding anew alliance aimed at protecting Western coun-tries from the threat of invasion by the SovietUnion. In 1949, Canada joined the United States,Great Britain, and other Western European na-tions in a military alliance—the North AtlanticTreaty Organization (NATO). Any attack onone NATO member was to be treated as an at-tack on all. NATO members agreed that, if con-ventional weapons were not sufficient, they woulduse tactical nuclear weapons—atomic bombs andartillery shells. As a last resort, they would be pre-pared to wage total nuclear war.

When NATO admitted West Germany as amember, the Soviet Union felt threatened byNATO countries, and it established the WarsawPact in 1955. This alliance, made up of EasternEuropean countries, was to protect these coun-tries and the Soviet Union from attack. A large

1500 km500 10000

C A N A D A

U S A

U S S R

Figure 6-2 The United States and the Soviet Unionboth stockpiled weapons in the years following WorldWar II.

Gathering information Where is Canada on thispolar projection? In what way does the polarprojection clarify the threat to Canada?

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part of the northern hemisphere was now effec-tively divided into two hostile camps. Armies con-stantly practised for war, and countries continuallyadded to their arsenals of weapons. Everywhere,spies and counterspies probed for weaknesses intheir enemy’s security, searching for secrets andcarrying out assassinations and murders, promot-ing revolutions and counter-revolutions. In 1956,Soviet troops brutally crushed a revolution inHungary. In 1961, communist-controlled EastGermany built a wall around West Berlin to keepEast Berliners in and West Berliners out. TheBerlin Wall became a powerful symbol of the ColdWar and the tensions that divided East from West.

Canada’s Commitment to NATOPrime Minister Mackenzie King defendedCanada’s decision to join a military alliance in atime of peace. In a 1948 speech to the House ofCommons, he stated:

Where force threatens, it can be kept at bay by su-perior force. So long as communism remains amenace to the free world, it is vital to the defenceof freedom to maintain … military strength on theside of freedom, and to ensure the degree of unityamong the nations which will ensure that they can-not be defeated one by one.

Force has not in itself the power to create bet-ter conditions. But a measure of security is the firstessential. If properly organized, the force requiredto provide security would have the power to savefrom destruction those who have at heart the aimof creating better conditions….

Canada made a serious commitment when itjoined NATO. It agreed to keep a full army brigadeand several air squadrons in Europe. It built andsupplied military bases overseas. Canadian shipsand aircraft tracked the movements of Soviet sub-

Figure 6-3 Countries of NATO and the Warsaw Pact.The dividing line between the Western European andcommunist countries was known as the “IronCurtain,” and movement of people and informationfrom one side to the other was tightly restricted.

Thinking critically Why would countries in WesternEurope feel threatened by the countries of theWarsaw Pact?

ICELAND

ALBANIA

U N I T E D S TAT E S

C A N A D A

Clear AirForce Base

ALASKA

Warsaw Pact

Iron Curtain

Non-aligned statesSpain joined NATO in 1982

NATOTurkey and Greece joined NATO in 1952.West Germany joined NATO in 1955.

Pinetree Line (1954)30 Radar stations

Mid-Canada Line (1957)98 Stations

Distant Early Warning (DEW)Line Stations (1958 –1960)

ATLANTIC OCEAN

ARCTIC OCEAN

1400 km7000

USSR

FINLAND

AUSTRIA

ITALY

SPAIN

SWEDEN

NORWAY

FRANCE

PORTUGAL

HUNGARYROMANIAYUGOSLAVIA BULGARIA

TURKEY

DENMARK

POLAND

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

GREECE

NETH.

BELGIUM

SWITZ.

GREATBRITAIN

EASTGERMANY

WESTGERMANY

GREENLAND

Thule Air Force Base

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marines. Canadian forces participated regularlyin military exercises with Canada’s allies. And per-haps most significantly, by joining NATO, Canadahad to adapt its defence policy to those of its allies.

A C T I V I T I E S

1. a) What groups of Canadians came under suspicionof being communists? What actions were takenagainst some of these people?

b) How was communism considered a threat todemocracy?

2. What was the Cold War? Why did the Soviet Unionwant to have a buffer of countries between it andWestern Europe?

3. What is NATO? Why was it formed? What did PrimeMinister King mean when he said, “it is vital to thedefence of freedom to maintain … military strengthon the side of freedom”?

4. What commitments did Canada make as a memberof NATO? How did membership in NATO affectCanada’s foreign policy?

The Issue of NorthAmerican DefenceAt first it seemed that, if hostilities broke out,Europe would be the battleground. However,when long-range bombers were developed to carrywarheads to distant targets, North America alsobecame vulnerable.

To protect against direct Soviet attack fromthe air, the United States built three lines of radarstations across Canada. The Pinetree Line, theMid-Canada Line, and—in the Arctic—the DEW(Distant Early Warning) Line were constructedbetween 1950 and 1957. These stations were de-signed to detect a surprise Soviet attack over theNorth Pole, giving the United States time tolaunch a counterattack.

For the first time, U.S. military personnel werestationed on Canadian soil. Some Canadians feltthat this defence system compromised their coun-try’s independence. To visit the DEW Line, forexample, Canadian members of Parliament and

Figure 6-4 Canadiansailors watch from the deck of HMCS St. John’s as a Dutchrefuelling shipprepares for an open-sea refuelling practiceduring NATOexercises in theAdriatic Sea, October1998.

Thinking critically

Why were these kindsof activities necessaryin the late 1990s?

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journalists had to fly first to New York and gainsecurity clearance from U.S. authorities. MostCanadians, however, accepted this loss of inde-pendence as the price of added security againstan attack from the Soviet Union.

Their peace of mind was short-lived. Soon,the superpowers had developed intercontinentalballistic missiles, armed with nuclear warheads.Missiles launched from the USSR could reachNorth American cities within thirty minutes. Theradar stations in Canada would not be able to de-tect them in time for anything to be done.

To meet the possible threat of Soviet attackon North America, Canada and the United Statesagreed, in 1957, to establish an integrated NorthAmerican Air Defence agreement (NORAD). Itwould include fighter forces, missile bases, andair-defence radar, all controlled by a central com-mand station built deep within CheyenneMountain, Colorado. NORAD had a force of one

thousand bombers at its disposal at one time,some of which were always in the air, armed withnuclear weapons. A separate Canadian commandpost, under joint control, was established deepinside tunnels at North Bay, Ontario.

Civil Defence: The Home Frontin the Cold WarCanadians feared that an open war between theUSSR and the United States would result in arain of nuclear bombs and missiles on their cities.The federal government developed civil defenceplans, and cities prepared to protect their popu-lations. Some cities had nuclear shelters in deepbasements or subway lines. If an attack were tooccur, sirens would sound a warning and peoplewould try to find shelter. Schools ran drills to teachstudents to “duck and cover” (hide under desks) orto lie in ditches. Scientific American magazine de-clared that fallout shelter programs were a hoax—none of these shelters could provide realprotection in case of nuclear attack. Nevertheless,the fear of a nuclear World War III was very real.Ironically, the existence of nuclear weapons—andthe threat of mass destruction—probably pre-vented an all-out war between the superpowers.

Figure 6-5 Radar station at Hall Beach in Canada’sEastern Arctic. Northern radar stations made up theDistant Early Warning (DEW) Line.

Developing understanding How would youdescribe this location? Why do you think this locationwas chosen by NORAD?

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Planning for Peace: TheUnited Nations Despite the growing tensions at the end of WorldWar II, world leaders began making plans for aninternational agency that would prevent anotherglobal conflict. In April 1945, delegates from fifty-one countries, including Canada, drew up a char-ter for the United Nations. The United Nationswas based on the idea of collective security, asthe League of Nations before it had been. Thistime, however, the nations of the world were readyto support the idea.

The General Assembly of the United Nationsprovides a forum in which member nations candebate issues of concern. Each member is given aseat and the right to vote on issues. The UnitedNations was given three powers it could useagainst aggressor nations. It can:

■ condemn the aggressor through speeches andresolutions;

■ use economic sanctions, urging members notto trade with the aggressor; and

■ respond militarily by sending in an armedforce.

Over the decades, these measures have had onlylimited success.

The Security Council is the body of theUnited Nations that is responsible for maintainingpeace and security. The Council has five perma-nent members—the “Big Five” powers—Britain,France, the United States, Russia (formerly theSoviet Union), and China (represented by thegovernment in Taiwan until 1971). There are alsoten other non-permanent members, each holdinga two-year term. Decisions need the consent ofnine members, but each of the five permanentmembers has the power of veto—the right to re-ject actions with which they disagree. The use ofthe veto has often prevented the United Nationsfrom taking decisive action. Up to 1955, as theCold War escalated, the veto was used seventy-eight times, seventy-five of them by the SovietUnion. When permanent members agree on acourse of action, however, the United Nations hasthe potential to be a great power.

The founders of the United Nations alsopledged to abolish disease and famine and to pro-tect human rights. To achieve these goals, theycreated various agencies such as the World HealthOrganization and UNICEF (United Nations

Figure 6-6 The SecurityCouncil is responsible forkeeping peace. It issuescalls for ceasefires andcreates peacekeepingforces. Canada has had aseat on the Security Councilin every decade since theUnited Natations wasformed.

Thinking critically Judgingby this photo, how wouldyou describe debate andproceedings at the UnitedNations?

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Children’s Fund). The United Nations also established the International Monetary Fundto stabilize the world economy by helping coun-tries that face great debt and the collapse of theircurrencies. The United Nations has benefitedmillions of people worldwide, especially throughits social and economic agencies and peacekeep-ing operations.

Canada has been a strong supporter of theUnited Nations since its creation. Through a va-riety of U.N. agencies, Canada has aided refugeesfrom war or natural disasters and worked on de-velopment projects in various countries—for ex-ample, by helping to build schools, dams, androads. By 1999, Canadian peacekeepers had beeninvolved in every U.N. operation since the startof these missions in 1956.

The Korean ConflictThough the threat of nuclear annihilation keptthe major powers from open war, both sides hadallies in the developing world, where wars didoccur. World War II left the Asian country of Koreadivided. In the north was a communist state, sup-ported by the USSR and communist China. Inthe south was a fragile democracy backed by theUnited States. In 1950, war broke out as NorthKorea tried to invade South Korea.

A U.N. force, composed largely of Americans,tried to force the invaders to retreat. Encouragedby the United States, Canada sent thousands oftroops and three naval destroyers to Korea. At theUnited Nations, Lester Pearson, Canada’sMinister of External Affairs, urged all sides to

Figure 6-7 The World HealthOrganization (WHO) testswells and undertakes otherinitiatives to help reduceillness from water pollution.This girl in Peru is pumpingwater from a well whosewater has been declared safe.

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agree to a ceasefire. At one point, the UnitedStates considered using the atomic bomb, butluckily, calmer heads prevailed. Although a cease-fire was reached in 1953, the war had increasedtensions between the West and the communistnations.

The Suez CrisisIn 1956, a crisis over the Suez Canal, in Egypt,gave Canada a chance to take a leading role atthe United Nations.

The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean andRed seas, and provides the shortest sea route fromEurope to the Indian Ocean. It was built in thelate 1800s, and was privately owned by Britishand French investors. In 1956, Egypt’s president,Gamal Abdel Nasser, on behalf of the Egyptian

government took over the canal. The neighbour-ing state of Israel was frightened by what it saw asEgyptian aggression, as Egypt threatened to barships to and from Israel from using the canal.Britain and France were quick to support an Israeliinvasion. Ignoring a U.N. Security Council reso-lution to cease hostilities, they landed troops inthe canal zone. The Soviet Union immediately of-fered Egypt financial aid and missiles.

The United States was angry at its allies,Britain, France, and Israel, who had not consultedthe U.S. government before attacking Egypt.Nevertheless, the United States threatened re-taliation against any Soviet involvement.

Canadian public opinion on the crisis was di-vided. The Conservative Party and many otherCanadians felt it was their duty to support Britain.Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, how-ever, denounced the British and French interven-tion and, like the United States, refused to supportthem. Once again, Lester Pearson went to theUnited Nations to try to work towards a solution.

Pearson proposed that a United NationsEmergency Force be sent to the Suez Canal toseparate and mediate between the rival armies.The U.N. agreed. The force, under the commandof a Canadian general, was chosen from coun-tries not directly involved in the conflict. For hisefforts in defusing the crisis, Lester Pearson wasawarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

A C T I V I T I E S

1. Identify: a) the United Nations; b) NORAD; c) theDEW Line; d) WHO.

2. Why was Canada willing to enter an air defenceagreement with the United States?

3. a) What is the purpose of the U.N. GeneralAssembly?

b) Why were the five permanent members of theSecurity Council given veto powers? How did thispower create a stalemate in the United Nations?

4. What caused the Korean War? How did Canada par-ticipate?

5. What important roles did Canada play in the Suezcrisis?

Figure 6-8 Lester Pearson, with his wife, Maryon,displays his Nobel Peace Prize medal. He helpeddefuse the Suez crisis.

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Figure 6-9 The Cubanmissile crisis.

Thinking critically Whydid this situation threatenworld peace?

CANADA

U S A

MEXICO

CUBA

Winnipeg

Toronto

Ottawa

MontrealHalifax

Salt Lake City

Denver

ChicagoWashington

New York

Range oflong-range

missiles(3200 km)

Range ofshort-range

missiles(1600 km)

Cape Canaveral(space research)

Cuban missile site

U.S. naval blockade of Cuba

Approaching Soviet ships


Towards a MoreIndependent DefencePolicyAs the Cold War intensified, tensions developedbetween Canada and the United States duringthe early 1960s. Personal relations between PrimeMinister John Diefenbaker and U.S. PresidentJohn Kennedy were strained. The men had verydifferent styles, and they took a strong dislike toeach other. These differences were particularlyobvious during the most serious crisis of the ColdWar: the Cuban missile crisis, which took theworld to the brink of nuclear war.

The Cuban Missile CrisisIn 1959, Cuban rebels under the leadership ofFidel Castro overthrew Cuba’s pro-U.S. leader ina revolution. The United States reacted angrily

by imposing trade and economic sanctions onCuba. In 1961, the United States backed an in-vasion of the island by a group of anti-CastroCubans. The invasion was a failure, but it en-couraged Cuba to turn to the USSR for support.

In October 1962, U.S. planes took pho-tographs showing that the USSR was installingoffensive nuclear missile bases in Cuba. Missileslaunched from these sites were a direct threat toU.S. security (see Figure 6-9). President Kennedyannounced a naval and air blockade of Cuba. U.S.forces and NORAD were readied for war. Aircraftloaded with bombs were constantly in the air. Theworld was poised on the brink of war.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at first re-fused to remove the missiles. The armed forcesof the USSR were put on full alert. Soviet shipssteamed towards the U.S. ships that were blockad-ing the island. At the last minute, Khrushchevagreed to dismantle the missile bases in exchangefor a promise that the United States would not

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up clo seThe Avro Arrow


As part of its military program in the 1950s, Canadaand the A.V. Row (Avro) Company developed the

Arrow, a state-of-the-art supersonic jet aircraft. In 1959,the project was cancelled by the Diefenbaker govern-ment. The existing planes were cut up for scrap, andmost of Avro’s designers and engineers moved to theUnited States. However, the memory of the Avro Arrowremains. Canadians, looking back, often feel that theylost an opportunity to establish their country as a tech-nological leader.

Why was the Avro Arrow cancelled? Opinions vary.In 1997, one newspaper summarized a view so popularthat it has become a Canadian myth, kept alive by a TVmovie:

Avro’s dauntless little band of aircraft engineers …worked out the highly original design for the newfighter…. But this hardy band of Canadians werebucking the odds. Senior American officials, in-cluding [the] President, conspired to kill the pro-ject. Why? Because if they could not build so granda fighter, Canada couldn’t have one either!

[In the TV movie] … the Americans—who de-clare … that Canadians should stick to building ca-noes, not warplanes—find a gullible ally when JohnDiefenbaker is elected Prime Minister…. Dief and

his ministers hate the Arrow because it is a Liberal-initiated project.

Source: Financial Post, January 18, 1997.

The reality was different, say several historians:

Everyone in authority knew that the Arrow had togo—costs had soared, there were no foreign or-ders, A.V. Row Canada was a ramshackle, disor-ganized company….

Source: Michael Bliss, Right Honourable Men(Toronto: HarperCollins, 1994), 204.

The Arrow cost six times more to produce than itsAmerican counterpart…. No one, not even theCanadian Air Force, wanted to buy it.

Source: A. Finkel and M. Conrad, History of theCanadian Peoples (Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman,1993).

Q u e s t i o n s

1. What opportunity do some people feel Canada lostwhen it cancelled the Avro Arrow project?

2. What are the different points of view surroundingthe cancellation of the Avro Arrow?

Figure 6-10 TheAvro Arrow.When thesuperpowersdeveloped long-range missiles,interceptorfighter planeslike the Arrowseemedobsolete.

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invade Cuba. The Americans had won a game of“nuclear chicken.”

During the crisis, the United States expectedCanada—its partner in NORAD—to provide un-conditional support of its policies. Prime MinisterDiefenbaker, however, preferred that the UnitedNations send a fact-finding mission to Cuba, andimplied that he did not believe the U.S. pho-tographs. Diefenbaker was reluctant to haveCanada drawn into a major conflict that seemedlargely rooted in U.S. policy and interests. At first,the Canadian government refused to placeCanada’s NORAD forces on alert. Nor did it allowU.S. planes with atomic weapons to land atCanadian bases. The Americans were furious.

Diefenbaker believed he was defending Canada’sindependence, but a poll later showed that 80 percent of Canadians thought he was wrong.Eventually, Diefenbaker did put Canadian troopson alert, but damage to Canada–U.S. relationshad already been done.

The Nuclear Issue in CanadaThe Cuban missile crisis caused a debate aboutCanada’s defence policy and the country’s stand onnuclear weapons. Should Canada accept nuclearweapons on its territory, as the United Stateswished? When the Avro Arrow was scrapped,Canada had agreed to accept U.S. Bomarc mis-

b u i l d i n g y o u r s k i l l s

Interpreting Visuals

Figure 6-11 a) Canadian artillery firingon enemy positions in Korea.

b) Contact by Korean War artist EdwardF. Zuber.

c) A Korean child accidentally burned bynapalm (a jelly-like substance used in firebombs and flame throwers). He isshowing soldiers his burns.

When photographers cover events, they don’t justpoint their cameras and shoot. They have points of view.What they choose to photograph and how they presenttheir subject can have different impacts on the viewer.

For example, a close-up view of a person’s facecan bring the viewer closer to that person, emotionallyif not physically. A wider view of an event can make

the viewer feel more involved in the action. A black-and-white photograph may create a certain mood thatthe photographer wants to convey. Painters also havepoints of view. The angle of the subject, the coloursused, and the details that are included are importantclues to the message the artist is trying to communi-cate. When you look at a photograph or painting, it is

a)

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important to “read” the work and try to interpretthe viewpoint of the photographer or artist.

Examine the three figures, then answer thequestions that follow.

A p p l y i n g t h e S k i l l

1. What do you think the people in figure (a) mightbe saying? Does the photographer have a par-ticular point of view? If so, what is it? How doyou think this viewpoint differs from that in figure(b)? In figure (c)?

2. What emotions do you associate with figure (b)?What viewpoint do you think the artist wants toconvey?

3. Why do you think artists and photographers weresent to record scenes of the war? Should weview their pictures as primary or secondary in-formation sources?

4. Choose another photograph or painting from thisbook or another source. Interpret it, applying theskills you have learned.

b)

c)

siles, which were capable of carrying nuclear war-heads. The years that passed before the missileswere actually installed, however, allowed time forsecond thoughts.

Many people were starting to realize that nu-clear war amounted to global suicide. In 1963,the ruling Conservative Party was divided on theissue. The minister of external affairs felt Canadashould be a non-nuclear nation. He argued that itwas hypocritical to urge the United Nations towork for disarmament while accepting nuclearweapons. The defence minister, in contrast, in-sisted that nuclear weapons were vital in pro-tecting Canada against communist aggression.

Meanwhile, the anti-nuclear movement was grow-ing among ordinary Canadian citizens.

During the election campaign of 1963, theLiberals, under the leadership of Lester Pearson,proposed that Canadian forces accept nuclearweapons under certain conditions. Prime MinisterDiefenbaker and the Conservatives, on the otherhand, appealed to Canadian nationalism, includ-ing Canada’s right to decide for itself on interna-tional matters. Many business leaders andinfluential newspapers supported the Liberals,fearing that Diefenbaker’s anti-Americanism wouldinjure trade and investment from the UnitedStates. The nuclear issue split the country andreflected uncertainty in the minds of Canadians.

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Diefenbaker was narrowly defeated in the elec-tion of 1963, and the Liberals formed a minoritygovernment. This federal election was the firstsince 1911 to be fought over Canada–U.S. rela-tions.

The Vietnam WarThe war in Vietnam was a major conflict in theCold War. Like Korea, Vietnam was divided into

two. The north was communist-controlled. Thegovernment in the south, although more a dicta-torship than a democracy, was supported by theUnited States. The Americans felt that if the southshould fall to communism, then other Asian stateswould fall, one after another, like a set of domi-noes. At first the United States offered only mil-itary advice and economic help to the SouthVietnamese, but by the 1960s it was sending U.S.troops as well.

In 1965, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson in-creased the number of U.S. troops and authorizedthe bombing of North Vietnam. By 1966, therewere 190 000 U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, and thenumber kept growing. At the same time, theUSSR and communist China supplied weaponsand help to North Vietnam.

Vietnam was the first war recorded by televi-sion cameras. As Americans watched Vietnamesevillages being bombed—and their own young menreturning home disabled or in body bags—somebegan questioning their involvement. Anti-warprotests were held across the country, as moreand more Americans disagreed with their govern-ment’s actions. In 1968, the public learned thatU.S. soldiers had massacred women and childrenin the village of My Lai. Then, the NorthVietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, simulta-neously attacking cities throughout South Vietnamand briefly seizing the United States embassy inthe city of Saigon. Despite their superior weapons,U.S. troops were unable to win the war.

In 1969, a new U.S. president, Richard Nixon,took office, pledging to pull U.S. troops out ofSoutheast Asia. The last U.S. combat forces leftSouth Vietnam in 1973. Less than two years later,a North Vietnamese offensive crushed the SouthVietnamese army. Vietnam, a nation ravaged bydecades of war and destruction, was unified undercommunist rule. Many anti-communistVietnamese fled their country. They took to theseas in crowded boats. These people made theirway to sprawling refugee camps in Malaysia andHong Kong, where they applied for refugee sta-tus. Thousands were accepted into Canada.

Figure 6-12 In 1961, Canadian activist ThérèseCasgrain helped form the Quebec chapter of theVoice of Women. VOW was an organization set up tolobby government and educate the public to promotepeace and nuclear disarmament. Its members usedpolitical demonstrations before these became apopular method of protest.

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Canada’s Reaction to the WarCanadians were at first divided over the war inVietnam. Some benefited from the war. Canadianfirms sold goods such as berets, boots, airplaneengines, and explosives to the U.S. DefenseDepartment. And most people still saw commu-nism as a real threat to Western security. All thesame, many were not sure that the peasants ofVietnam were “better dead than Red (commu-nist),” as a popular saying of the time claimed.Prime Minister Pearson shared the growing doubtsthat many Canadians had about the war. In 1965,he criticized Operation Rolling Thunder—thename of the U.S. bombing campaign of NorthVietnam—in a speech at a university inPhiladelphia. Pearson later joined PresidentJohnson for lunch at his retreat at nearby CampDavid. The president was enraged that theCanadian leader had dared to criticize him in hisown country. As one observer later reported:

As the luncheon dragged mercilessly on, Pearsonfinally chose to throw the raw meat on the table.“Well,” he offered daintily, “What did you think of my speech?” LBJ’s growl was audible.“Awwwful.” He stretched his large hand acrossthe table, clutched the prime minister by the upperarm, and led him on to the terrace where therewas room for wrath. Striding the porch, his armssawing the air, his sulphurous vocabulary contam-inating it, Johnson ripped into Pearson full-voltage.The prime minister had betrayed the president. Hehad joined the ranks of ignorant liberals, “thoseknow-nothing do gooders”….

For more than an hour he tore on until ulti-mately, … he moved beyond the realm of words.Having pinned the much smaller Pearson againstthe railing, the president of the United Statesgrabbed him by the shirt collar, twisted it and liftedthe shaken prime minister by the neck. The verbalabuse continued in a venomous torrent.

Source: Lawrence Martin, The Presidents and thePrime Ministers (Toronto: Doubleday, 1982), 1–2.

Figure 6-13 This cartoon recalls theincident described by author LawrenceMartin.

Interpreting a cartoon How is LesterPearson portrayed in this cartoon?What is the cartoonist telling us aboutPearson? About Canada?

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A C T I V I T I E S

1. Identify: a) Nikita Khrushchev; b) Fidel Castro; c) John F. Kennedy; d) John Diefenbaker.

Explain the role each played in the Cuban missile crisis.

2. What questions about nuclear weapons did theCuban missile crisis raise in Canadians’ minds? Whydid these questions divide Canadians?

3. a) What is the U.S. policy towards Cuba at present?

b) How is Canada’s policy different?

c) Which policy do you agree with? Why?

4. Should Canada have accepted nuclear weapons in1963? Explain your answer.

5. Write a brief article explaining the war in Vietnam to modern newspaper readers who know little about it. Answer the following questions: a) Who? b) What? c) When? d) Where? e) Why?

6. “The Vietnam War helped define Canada as a nationsince it encouraged Canadian leaders to distancetheir country from U.S. foreign policy.” Explain thisstatement in your own words.

Trudeau’s Foreign PolicyIn 1968, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a Liberal, waselected prime minister. As you will see in Chapter7, he reflected many changing attitudes in Canadaat that time. One of his goals was to chart a coursein foreign policy that was less dependent on U.S.approval. This intention was clearly signalled in1970, when Canada officially recognized the com-munist government of the People’s Republic ofChina. Even though Trudeau had defied U.S.pressure to withhold this recognition, his deci-sion made sense to most Canadians. MainlandChina was clearly a great power. Also, as a majorpurchaser of Canadian wheat and other goods, itwas an important trading partner.

At the same time, Trudeau had no wish toanger the United States. Neither did he thinkCanada could act on foreign affairs without con-sidering the U.S. government to some extent. Heexplained his views in one of his most famousspeeches:

Let me say that it should not be surprising if ourpolicies in many instances either reflect or take intoaccount the proximity of the United States. Livingnext to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-

Figure 6-14 In 1976,Trudeau became the firstleader of a NATO country topay a state visit to FidelCastro’s communist Cuba.At the end of one speech,he surprised and delightedhis audience by proclaiming“Viva Fidel Castro.”

Expressing ideas How doyou think U.S. officialswould have reacted to thisphotograph? Why?

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tempered is the beast, one is affected by everytwitch and grunt.

Source: Pierre Trudeau, speech to the NationalPress Club, Washington, DC, March 1969.

Trudeau’s approach to national defence was adeparture from previous policies. He wanted toscale back Canada’s participation in the nucleararms race with the Soviet Union in the hope thatthis would ease Cold War tensions. From 1970to 1972, nuclear missiles were removed fromCanada’s NATO forces in Europe. Bomarc missilesites that Pearson had accepted in 1963 were dis-mantled. In 1984, the last nuclear warheads wereremoved from Canadian soil. Trudeau also cutthe national defence budget and reduced Canada’sNATO contingent in Europe to half its formerstrength, in spite of protests from military offi-cers, diplomats, and the U.S. embassy. Canadadid, however, continue to participate in NATOand NORAD.

Canada as a Middle PowerThroughout Trudeau’s period in office, the ColdWar dominated international affairs. The worldremained divided between the West (the UnitedStates and its allies) and the East (communist

China, the Soviet Union, and countries friendlyto it).

Outside the two rival power blocs, however,most of the world’s people lived in countries notofficially allied with either superpower. Indeed,the new African and Asian nations that hademerged from colonial rule after World War IItried to remain detached from Cold War rivalries.But other divisions were emerging. Most of thenew nations were located in the southern hemi-sphere. They were also, for the most part, far lessindustrialized than countries in the northern hemi-sphere. So, while the Cold War split the worldpolitically between East and West, a huge eco-nomic gap separated the rich North from the poorSouth.

The Trudeau government aimed to bridgeboth gaps in order to promote world peace andunderstanding among nations. Canada had be-come a “middle power,” building links betweenEast and West and North and South. Trudeau’sefforts to reduce nuclear weapons and to establishtrade and sporting links with communist stateswere part of this plan. Trudeau called for moreaid for the poor countries of the world. He be-lieved that the prosperous nations of the Northshould be helping the poverty-stricken countriesof the South to develop their economies and

Figure 6-15 Canadian-sponsoredimmunization program in thePhilippines.

Developing understanding Howwould Canadian programs such asimmunization improve livingconditions for less developedcountries? How would improvedliving conditions promote peace?

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I n n o v a t i o n s

Advances in Science andTechnology


Canada

The first Canadarm was designed and builtby Spar Aerospace in 1981. The remote armis attached to NASA’s space shuttles. Itallows crews to launch satellites into pre-cise positions in orbit, and to recapturesatellites to return to Earth for servicing.Without this technology, much of theworld’s satellite communication would beimpossible.

The U.S. Defense Department and four U.S.universities linked their computers in a net-work in 1969. They called their new link theARPANET (Advanced Research ProjectsAgency Network). Its aim was to decentral-ize the Defense Department’s computersystem and make it less vulnerable toattack by the Soviet Union. It was the firststep in the creation of whatwould later becomethe Internet. Othernetworks slowlybegan to appear andlink to each other.

The first nuclear reactor built by Canadianscientists was switched on at Chalk River inSeptember 1945. In 1967, Ontario Hydrocompleted the first CANDU nuclear reactor,and began a program by which nuclear fis-sion would supply about one-half ofOntario’s electricity.

In 1976, scientists discovered damage tothe ozone layer, the part of the Earth’supper atmosphere that protects the planetfrom ultraviolet rays coming from the sun.The damage was caused by freon and chlo-rofluorocarbons (CFCs), chemicals used byindustry, and in refrigerators and spraycans. As concern about the damage grew,Canada and other countries passed legisla-tion restricting the manufacture and sale ofproducts containing freon and CFCs.

July 21, 1969, marked the first mannedmoon landing. U.S. astronauts from theApollo XI spacecraft landed on the moon inthe lunar module Eagle 5. The first personto set foot on the moon’s surface was NeilArmstrong. As millions of people aroundthe world watched the historic event live ontelevision, Armstrong proclaimed he wastaking “one small step for man, one giantleap for mankind.” ▼

▼

Even a famous science fiction writer couldnot begin to guess the extent to whichtechnology would transform life in thedecades after World War II. H.G. Wells,author of books such as The Time Machineand The Shape of Things to Come, pre-dicted that by 1950 soldiers would wagewar from bicycles and drop bombs from bal-loons. In reality, by this time, the atomicbomb had demonstrated the awesomepower of science. The following inventionswere just a few of those that transformedmilitary technology and everyday life.

▼

Protective ozone layer

Limit of most clouds

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improve living conditions for their people. Thispolicy of trade and aid became the cornerstoneof Trudeau’s foreign policy in bridging theNorth–South gap.

In 1968, a new government body known asthe Canadian International Development Agency(CIDA) was formed. CIDA’s responsibility was toboost foreign aid to less industrialized countries.Countries receiving aid would have to agree touse it to buy products manufactured in Canada. Inthis way, Canada would benefit, as well. This wasknown as “tied aid,” and it made up over half thetotal development aid Canada extended to lessindustrialized nations. During Trudeau’s admin-istration, the total amount of aid Canada extendedto developing countries increased from $277 mil-lion in 1969 to over $2 billion in 1984.

The Commonwealth andla FrancophonieCanada was in a good position to build bridgesbetween North and South because of its mem-bership in two organizations, the Commonwealthand la Francophonie. The Commonwealth wasmade up of several countries that had once be-longed to the British Empire. La Francophoniewas an organization of French-speaking states,many former colonies of France. Both organiza-tions had many members that were less industri-alized, and both offered a forum for discussingsolutions to the North–South gap. In 1950,Commonwealth countries, including Canada, es-tablished the Colombo Plan to provide money andaid to less developed countries in the organiza-tion. Canada contributed in a number of ways,for example, by inviting overseas students to studyin Canada, and by sending Canadian experts over-seas to give technical assistance. Most Canadianaid under the Colombo Plan went to India andPakistan.

The Cold War RenewedWhile Trudeau was trying to bridge the economicgap among countries during the early 1970s, ten-sion between the United States and the SovietUnion also eased, and they agreed to reduce the

number of their nuclear weapons. They signedthe Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) in1972. This agreement was a breakthrough in re-lations between the two superpowers. In 1979,however, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Atthe same time, the USSR sent new medium-rangemissiles to Eastern Europe. In response, NATOannounced that it, too, was deploying new, moreadvanced missiles in Europe. A second round ofSALT talks on the issue of further disarmamentwas halted. In protest against the Soviet occupa-tion of Afghanistan, many Western nations, in-cluding Canada, boycotted the 1980 OlympicGames held in Moscow. In 1981, the U.S. gov-ernment announced a massive increase in defencespending, with most of the money to be spent onmodernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

In September 1983, Soviet jets shot down aKorean passenger jet that had strayed into Sovietair space. A month later, U.S. forces invaded the

Figure 6-16 Paul Henderson of the MontrealCanadiens after scoring the winning goal in theCanada–USSR hockey series in 1972. This popularsporting event was one of the steps taken by Canadain a new approach to foreign affairs.

Gathering information How would you describeHenderson’s reaction to his goal? Why do you thinkthis victory was particularly thrilling for Canadians?

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Caribbean nation of Grenada and deposed a pro-Soviet government. The United States carried ona covert (secret) war against the left-wingSandinista regime in Nicaragua. Each superpoweraccused the other of provoking war, and watchednervously for any sign of attack. The world seemedcloser to nuclear war than at any time since theCuban missile crisis.

Prime Minister Trudeau appealed to theUnited States and the Soviet Union to show morerestraint. He made a special tour of a number ofworld capitals to enlist other political leaders inhis campaign to mediate between the superpow-ers. In February 1984, he summed up his peaceinitiative in a speech to Parliament:

Let it be said of Canada and of Canadians, that wesaw the crisis, that we did act; that we took risks;that we were loyal to our friends and open withour adversaries; that we have lived up to our ideals;and that we have done what we could to lift theshadow of war.

But Trudeau was growing tired of politics. Hefelt he had played his part. On the evening ofFebruary 29, 1984, he left his official residenceat 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa for a walk throughthe snowy streets of the capital. It was then thathe decided to retire from politics. The Trudeauera had come to an end.

A C T I V I T I E S

1. What did Trudeau mean when he said living next tothe United States was like sleeping next to an ele-phant?

2. How did Trudeau’s leadership change Canada’s re-lations with:

a) communist countries?

b) the United States?

c) new nations in the southern hemisphere?

3. How did Trudeau try to bridge the gap between richand poor countries?

4. In what areas of the world did Cold War tensions in-crease from 1979 through 1984? What was Canada’sresponse?

The Mulroney Era: CloserTies with the UnitedStatesConservative leader Brian Mulroney becameCanada’s prime minister in September 1984. Hisapproach to international relations was in manyways the opposite of Trudeau’s. While Trudeau hadtried to separate Canadian from U.S. interests,Prime Minister Mulroney worked to forge closerlinks. He developed a close personal relationshipwith U.S. President Ronald Reagan, with whomhe shared a similar conservative philosophy.

In 1985, the U.S. government unveiled anambitious plan to create a defence shield, partof which would orbit the Earth. This StrategicDefence Initiative (SDI), nicknamed “Star Wars,”had an enormous budget. Canada belonged to the North American Aerospace DefenceCommand (formerly NORAD). Did this mem-bership commit it to becoming involved? AcrossCanada, anti-nuclear groups protested Canada’spossible involvement. These groups believed thatStar Wars would provoke other nations to developsimilar weapons. Prime Minister Mulroney fi-nally said no to Canada’s official participation.However, the door was left open for privateCanadian companies to bid on Star Wars con-tracts if they wished.

At the same time, the Mulroney governmenttightened other links with the United States. Overthe years, some Canadians had continued to ex-press concern that U.S. companies controlled somuch of the Canadian economy. Some measureshad been put in place to limit U.S. investment.In 1973, the Trudeau government had formed theForeign Investment Review Agency (FIRA) toblock any foreign investment that seemed not tobe in Canada’s interest. Now Mulroney an-nounced that Canada was “open for business.”He dismantled FIRA and replaced it withInvestment Canada, a body that would encour-age suitable foreign investment. Then, in 1987,he started negotiations that led Canada into theFree Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United

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States. The agreement removed tariffs on goodscrossing the border, and opened Canada to U.S.investment as well as opening the United States toCanadian investment.

Free trade proved to be a very controversialissue for Canadians. Those who supported freetrade argued that, by eliminating tariffs, Canadawould attract more U.S. investment—whichwould help Canadian industry grow and benefitthe whole economy. Free trade would also pro-vide access to the larger U.S. market, which wouldincrease Canada’s productivity and growth. Withlarger production runs, Canadian products couldbe sold at lower prices to compete effectively withimports. A free trade agreement would also at-tract U.S. firms to Canada to take advantage ofour natural resources, skilled workers, and well-planned transportation system.

Many people did not support the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement, however. Thesegroups argued that once protective tariffs wereremoved, those U.S. branch plants operating in Canada to avoid paying tariffs would simply return to the United States, thus eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs in Canada. Thiswould mean that free trade would increase unemployment and de-industrialize Canada.Canadian businesses would be unable to com-pete against giant U.S. companies, which wereable to flood the Canadian market with cheapgoods and services. Perhaps most significantly,opponents of the deal argued that free tradethreatened Canada’s independence—that eco-nomic union would lead to pressure for politicalunion, as well.

After much heated debate, the FTA was es-tablished in 1989. In 1992, the Mulroney gov-ernment expanded the free trade zone by signingthe North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA), which included free trade with Mexico.This agreement, too, proved to be controversial.The major fear of NAFTA’s opponents was thatcompanies operating in Canada would move toMexico to take advantage of the low wages andless strict anti-pollution laws. Those who sup-ported NAFTA argued that while a few compa-

nies might move to Mexico, most would remain inCanada, preferring better educated and betterskilled Canadian workers. Canada had other at-tractions, such as transportation and communi-cation systems, social services, and social stability.

Amid protests, the Liberal government underJean Chrétien signed the North American FreeTrade Agreement, which came into effect in 1994.Although the Conservatives had been defeated in1993, their policies had linked Canada’s politicaland economic fortunes much more closely tothose of the United States.

Figure 6-17 Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney,on the left, sings “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” withU.S. President Ronald Reagan. Mulroney wasCanada’s prime minister from 1984 to 1993.

Developing understanding What does thisphotograph tell you about Canada’s relations with theUnited States during this period?

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The End of the Cold WarThe Cold War ended astonishingly quickly. Sovietleader Mikhail Gorbachev realized that the SovietUnion could no longer afford its costly arms racewith the United States. He proposed massive cutsin the arsenal of both superpowers. Gorbachevthen began a series of sweeping economic, social,and political reforms that would help the com-munist countries run more efficiently and createbetter conditions for their citizens. He also loos-ened censorship and allowed greater freedom ofspeech. These policies, called perestroika (recon-struction) and glasnost (openness), encouragedpeople of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland,

Figure 6-18 In November 1989, Canadians joinedtelevision viewers around the world in watching thefall of the Berlin Wall.

Expressing ideas How were these people’s actionssymbolic of what was happening in East–Westrelations?

Hungary, and Romania to demand similar reformsin their countries. In November 1989, EastGerman border guards, who earlier would haveshot anyone crossing the Berlin Wall, watchedpeople from East and West demolish it. Even thepowerful Soviet Union fell apart, as member statesbecame independent countries. The Cold War inEurope was over.

Communist China, too, experimented with akind of perestroika, allowing capitalism to flour-ish in many areas of the economy. Many Chinesepeople demanded political freedom, as well. Theirhopes were brutally dashed, however, inTiananmen Square in June 1989. Red Army sol-diers and tanks attacked students involved in thedemocracy movement, killing hundreds, perhapsthousands.

In the end, few of the world’s communist gov-ernments survived. With the dissolution of theSoviet Union in 1991, the great division betweenEast and West—between the communist and non-communist world—had gone.

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The New World Order Many thought the end of the Cold War mightbring a new age of world peace. However, thiswas not the case. There were numerous regionalconflicts and ethnic rivalries, most notably inthe Persian Gulf, the former Yugoslavia, andAfrica.

In August 1990, Iraqi troops invaded the oil-rich country of Kuwait. Almost immediately, theUnited Nations demanded that Iraq withdrawfrom Kuwait, and threatened economic sanctionsif it refused. The United States began to demandthat military force be used as a last resort to oustIraqi forces from the country. For the first timesince the Korean War, the United Nations waspoised to lead a multinational force against an ag-gressor nation. And as in Korea, the United Stateswould take the lead. The Americans were joinedby a coalition of forces from twenty-seven othercountries.

In January 1991, when the U.N. deadline foran Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait came and went,U.S. and coalition forces began bombarding targetsfrom the air and sea. Canada participated with asquadron of CF-18 fighter bombers, units of theCanadian Army, and ships from the CanadianNavy patrolling the Persian Gulf. “OperationDesert Storm” had begun.

The Gulf War destroyed the Iraqi fightingforce and much of the country’s infrastructure.The use of “smart” weapons, such as laser-guidedbombs and cruise missiles launched many kilo-metres from their targets, changed the nature ofwar.

After victory in the Gulf War, U.S. PresidentGeorge Bush proclaimed a “new world order.”From now on, the United Nations would take amuch more active role as a global police force. Inthe past, the United Nations had been dedicatedto peacekeeping—negotiating settlements andkeeping warring factions apart. Now it would havemore of a peacemaking role: it would, where nec-essary, use force to punish aggression. Militaryaction would preserve long-term peace and secu-rity. And the United Nations would undertake thisrole under the guidance of the United States. Asthe only superpower remaining after the collapse

of the Soviet Union, the United States was leftto dominate world affairs.

SomaliaIn 1992, the United Nations launched “OperationRestore Hope” in Somalia, an east African nationthat had been ravaged by years of civil war andstarvation. The mission was directed by the UnitedStates, but Canadian forces joined those fromother countries in distributing food and other es-sential supplies to the desperate local population.

The mission resulted in a crisis in Canada’sarmed forces. One night, members of theCanadian Airborne Regiment arrested a Somali

Figure 6-19 Canadian members of the UnitedNations force in the Persian Gulf.

Using evidence How does this photo demonstrate achange in the peacekeeping policy of the UnitedNations?

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What Role ShouldCanada Play in U.S.-Dominated MilitaryAlliances?

In 1991, ethnic wars broke out in the former Yugoslavia.Slobodan Milosevic, leader of the Federal Republic ofYugoslavia, began to talk about establishing a greaterSerbia by uniting all the Serbian population from sur-rounding states into one country. By 1992, fighting hadspread to the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, whichformed part of Yugoslavia. Bosnia-Herzegovina was in-habited by Croats, Serbs, and Muslims. U.N. peace-keeping missions were sent in to try to keep the sidesfrom fighting. Canadian forces were the first U.N. peace-keepers to arrive inside Bosnia-Herzegovina, but nei-ther they nor any other U.N. peacekeeping mission wereable to keep peace. Frustrated by the failure of theUnited Nations to control the situation, the countries ofNATO threatened to take steps to end the fighting.

In 1995, NATO forces launched a series of airstrikes against the mainly Serbian forces of the Yugoslavarmy, which was perceived as the aggressor. The war-ring factions eventually agreed to a ceasefire, and U.S.troops were sent to bolster the U.N. peacekeepingforces on the ground.

In 1998, Serbian forces moved into the provinceof Kosovo to ensure it would remain under Serbian con-trol. The majority of the population in Kosovo wereAlbanian Muslims. In spring 1999, after prolonged diplo-matic efforts failed to stop the Serbian operations, theU.S.-dominated NATO alliance launched its first-evermilitary operation against an independent country. Itbegan bombing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.Canada, as a NATO member, engaged in the contro-versial air strikes. The stated purpose of the air strikeswas to force the Yugoslav president, Milosevic, to stop

Serbs from persecuting, murdering, and displacingAlbanians in Kosovo.

Canada’s participation in the bombings was thesubject of heated debate at home. Some Canadianssupported NATO’s bombings, insisting that NATO wasobligated to act to prevent the Serbian–Albanian con-flict from spreading to neighbouring countries. Criticsof the bombing argued that NATO should never haveinterfered in the domestic affairs of a sovereign nation,and that its involvement had escalated the conflict. Theythought the United Nations should have pursued peacethrough its own channels.

Canadians began to question NATO’s role in the“new world order” and Canada’s role in NATO. ShouldNATO force be used to prevent or intervene in interna-tional conflicts, acting as a kind of North American andEuropean police force?

Perhaps the most important issue for Canadiansis: What role should Canada play in U.S.-dominated al-liances such as NATO and the North AmericanAerospace Defence Command (formerly NORAD)?Should we play a role at all? These questions werebrought into sharp focus again in 2001, when it seemedlikely that the United States would renew its 1985 StarWars initiative. The new U.S. national missile defence(NMD) project would involve spending billions to pro-tect the United States from nuclear attack.

For and Against

What views do the following excerpts present onCanada’s involvement in U.S.-dominated military al-liances?

Source 1

Canada has been a member of NATO for the lasthalf century and as a result would have been pro-tected if attacked by another country. This is im-portant because the Canadian military is not capableof defending this country! Our military has beenbled to the point that it would be impossible to de-fend ourselves if China, Russia or North Korea forthat matter, decides to invade Canada. Thereforewe have depended and continue to depend onNATO for our protection and consequently we mustlive up to our obligations to the alliance.

Regardless of what you think of the Kosovosituation, do not be critical of our government or

c o u n t e r p o i n t s

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military for its involvement. There could come a daywhen NATO will be there when we most need it.

Source: L. Ryan, a former peacekeeper in Bosniafrom Newfoundland, in a letter dated April 19,1999. In Canada on the Attack: The Debate,“Letters from Canadians and Others OutsideYugoslavia.” From the Canadian BroadcastingCorporation Web site:<http:cbc.ca/news/indepth>.

Source 2

Canada MUST redefine its independence on theworld stage, and in particular set a course in for-

eign policy independent of theUnited States. There are alreadywelcome signs of this, including ...Canada’s advocacy role in trying toestablish a world ban on the use ofland mines.... There is much to rec-ommend the long-standing relation-ship between Americans andCanadians across the longest unde-fended border in the world, but lock-step adherence to U.S. foreign(military) policy is not one of them.(A recent example of this kind ofconcern was provided on the CBCNational News..., when the Ministerof Defence, Mr. Art Eggleton, ...opined that Canada should considercontributing to the resurgent, ulti-mately destabilizing and doomed-to-failure U.S. “Star Wars” missiledefence program.)

In this way [by redefining its in-dependence on the world stage],Canada will recover the world respect it deserves from an earliertime, and rediscover its mandate toprovide a much needed forum ofsober second thought, a necessary

counter-measure to those “great powers” too ofteninebriated by their own self-righteous views....

Source: Prof. Donald Fleming, University ofBritish Columbia, “Kosovo and Canada’s partici-pation in NATO’s war.” Letter to Bill Graham,Chair, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs andInternational Trade, April 21, 2000.

A n a l y s i n g t h e I s s u e

1. What key ideas does Source 1 express? How dothey contrast with those of Source 2?

2. Do you think it is possible for Canada to “set a coursein foreign policy independent of the United States”?In what way? Explain your answer.

3. What do you think Canada’s role in NATO should be?

4. Should Canada participate in the development of“Star Wars”? What could be the military and eco-nomic benefits? What could be the disadvantages?

Figure 6-20 A young Muslim girl pats a Canadianpeacekeeper on the head as he walks by the front gateof the Canadian base in Visoco, Bosnia, in 1994.

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former colonial forces in the area, sent troops to tryto control the slaughter. A small detachment ofU.N. peacekeepers was also sent under the com-mand of Canadian Major General Roméo Dallaire.

When Dallaire realized the extent of theplanned killings, he sent a series of urgent appealsto U.N. headquarters in New York. He outlinedan ambitious military plan to halt the killing. Ashe saw it, the United Nations needed to send ahuge multinational force to disarm the warringfactions. For the plan to work, two things were re-quired: speed and the support of the United States,the only country that could provide enough troopsat short notice. Unfortunately, the response fromthe United Nations and Washington was unen-thusiastic. The United States feared a defeat sim-ilar to that in Somalia. In April 1994, the worldwas horrified to learn of a massive wave of killingin Rwanda. Within a few weeks, close to a mil-lion people had died, including many women, oldpeople, and babies.

With the failure of the U.N. efforts to keepthe peace in the Persian Gulf, the formerYugoslavia, and Africa, many observers wonderedwhat the future of the organization would be.

A C T I V I T I E S

1. Contrast Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s approachto foreign affairs with that of Prime Minister PierreTrudeau. Present your information in the form of adiagram, chart, paragraph, poem, or other repre-sentation.

2. List at least four reasons for the end of the Cold War.Which reason(s) would you classify as economic?How would you classify your other reasons?

3. What are some areas in which military conflicts haveoccurred since the end of the Cold War? How andwhy have Canadians participated?

4. What did President Bush mean when he proclaimeda “new world order”?

5. What is the difference between peacekeeping andpeacemaking?

Figure 6-21 The United Nations had greater successin Haiti than in Somalia or Rwanda. Canadianpeacekeepers assumed a major role in policing thisCaribbean country as it recovered from a brutaldictatorship. RCMP officers also helped to train a newHaitian police force in the newly democratic society.

teenager found wandering in the Canadian basecamp. During the night, the teen was torturedand beaten to death. At first, a military inquiryfound that only a few low-ranking officers hadcommitted this terrible, racist crime. As more ev-idence came to light, however, it became clearthat there had been a high-level attempt to coverup the incident. Canadians were shocked by theseevents. In 1995, the Airborne Regiment was dis-banded. A serious shadow had been cast upon thereputation of Canada’s armed forces.

RwandaCanadians were also active in the central Africancountry of Rwanda. This small nation was tornapart by ethnic rivalries. France and Belgium, the

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R U S S I A

MEXICO

Hawaii

UNITED STATES

C A N A D A

COLOMBIA

PERU

CHILE

INDIA

C H I N A

PHILIPPINES

JAPAN

S0UTHKOREA

AUSTRALIA

NEWZEALAND

PACIFICOCEAN

PACIFICOCEAN

INDIANOCEAN

Equator

2000 6000 km0

A New Era of GlobalizationWhen the Liberals came to power in 1993, oneof Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s priorities was toexpand Canada’s trading opportunities with othercountries. He enthusiastically organized “TeamCanada” trade missions to Asia and Latin Americato secure deals for Canadian investment and ex-ports. The Canadian government has signed freetrade agreements with Chile and Israel. Canadaalso joined APEC (the Asia–Pacific EconomicCooperation Group) to promote freer trade amongPacific countries.

These trade initiatives were part of a trendsweeping the world by the end of the twentiethcentury. The trend was globalization—a vastnetwork of business, communications, and cul-tural links among countries. Globalization waspartly the result of rapid changes in communica-

tions technology and the fall of communism.Countries around the world were now “open forbusiness.” Goods could be easily shipped aroundthe world, and the Internet made it possible todo business on-line in almost any part of the globe.

Globalization as an IssueMany people in Canada and around the world be-lieve globalization is a powerful trend that cannotbe stopped. They maintain that globalization willraise living standards for everyone, rich and poor.Large corporations will invest in less industrial-ized countries, creating jobs for many more peopleand raising standards of living. On the other hand,some observers doubt these optimistic predic-tions. The booming economies of the Philippines,Malaysia, and other “Asian tigers” had been heldup as examples of how global trade could result in

Figure 6-22 The Pacific Rim trading area, includingmajor ocean trading routes.

Expressing ideas Why is the Pacific Rim trading areaespecially important to British Columbia?

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great prosperity. In the late 1990s, however, thesecountries were hit with an economic crisis whoseeffects were felt throughout the new global econ-omy. The Canadian economy suffered, especiallyin British Columbia, since Asian markets for lum-ber, minerals, and food products diminished. By2000, the Asian tigers seemed to be recovering,but their economic troubles made some peoplequestion the stability of global trade.

There are other problems. Many multinationalcorporations have relocated to parts of the world,such as Latin America, where labour costs arelow, and where there are few environmental reg-ulations. Workers in many countries, includingCanada, have lost their jobs because of thesemoves. Furthermore, globalization presents athreat to many countries’ cultures as the ways ofWestern countries, especially the United States,spread and become dominant.

While Canadians hoped to benefit from theglobal economy, many also believed they had

global responsibilities. For example, shouldCanada build trade relationships with countrieswith a record of human rights abuses, such asChina? In response to this issue, Canada intro-duced human rights as a topic in some of its tradetalks, hoping to persuade its new partners to re-spect these rights in their countries.

A C T I V I T I E S

1. Why did Jean Chrétien organize “Team Canada”trade missions?

2. Why do you think trade with Asian countries is es-pecially important to British Columbia?

3. Develop your own definition of the word globaliza-tion.

4. List four possible benefits of globalization. List fourpossible negative effects.

Figure 6-23 PrimeMinister Chrétienparticipates in a teaceremony during atrade mission toJapan.

Thinking critically

How would missionssuch as the oneshown here lessenCanada’sdependence on theUnited States?

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Develop an Understanding

1. On maps of North America, the Pacific Region, andEurope, locate and label sites of key events in thischapter.

2. Make up a series of ten or more Canadian newspa-per headlines that you might have written if you werea newspaper editor from 1960 to 2001. Focus onthe theme of Canadian independence in foreign pol-icy.

3. Write a newspaper editorial on the fall of commu-nist governments in Eastern Europe and the breakupof the Soviet Union.

Explore the Issues

4. “Canada gained a reputation as an impartial andpeace-loving nation.” Find evidence in the chapterfor and against this viewpoint.

5. Explain why the war in Vietnam was unpopular withmany people in the United States and Canada. Whatrole did the media play? Explain why you think theUnited States lost this war.

6. Draw a political cartoon focussed on the “new worldorder.”

7. In a small group, debate the past importance ofNATO, and the importance of its continuing exis-tence. Write a summary of the main points raisedin your debate, and share these with the class.

Research and Communicate

8. Make up a set of test questions for a Canadian whomight want to work in another country, perhaps ina Canadian embassy or in aid work. Your test ques-tions should help interviewers determine how knowl-edgeable the candidate is about international eventssince World War II.

9. Using this chapter and independent research, de-velop an illustrated timeline for the Cold War.

10. Research the careers and policies of two of theseCanadian prime ministers: Lester Pearson, JohnDiefenbaker, Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, JeanChrétien. Write a script for a video play around a fic-tional encounter between your two chosen leaders.

11. a. Has free trade been a success or failure? To an-swer this question properly, you need factualinformation about Canadians and Canada’s econ-omy. Statistics on trade with the United Statesare useful. What other statistics might be help-ful? Look for trends.

b. Find some statistics to help you evaluate theimpact of free trade.

c. Use these statistics to support your view of freetrade.

12. Create point-form notes for an overhead presen-tation on the topic “An Independent CanadianForeign Policy.”

13. With a partner, research the history and activities ofthe United Nations. Design three awards that youthink the United Nations could present, which rep-resent its goals. Make up a list of criteria for eachaward.

14. Debate the following topic: Resolved—That theUnited Nations should be strengthened in order todeal with peace issues.

15. Design a “globalization” Web page that includesyour own definition for the term, your analysis of itscauses, and your evaluation of advantages and dis-advantages. Consider using illustrations such asdrawings, cartoons, photographs, diagrams, andmaps.

L O O K I N G B A C K

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