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Quebec's Padlock Law
This is the act to protect the province against communist propaganda. The government was worried that the communist propaganda would change people’s views and encourage them to overthrow the government. This law was inspired by an amendment to the Criminal Code that was introduced after the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. People found guilty could be detained for up to 13 months. This was significant because it stops communism from growing too big in Canada. -
Spies in Canada Gouzenko Affair
Igor Gouzenko a person working in the soviet Embassy in Ottawa and revealed that the USSR had a spy ring in Canada and other Western Countries. He wrote a book called "The Fall of a Titan" that exposed the Soviet secrets. He made a deal with the Canadian government that he would give top secret Soviet information for permanent protection. This was Significant because with this valuable info 18 Russian spies were caught. -
The Berlin Blockade
This was a struggle made by the Soviet Union to limit the ability for Great Britain, France, and the USA to travel to their sectors of berlin laying in Russia occupied by East Germany. The Soviets completely blocked the roads to Berlin. This was significant because it forced teamwork and cooperation between the allies because they now had to airlift the supplies to Berlin. Many tons of supplies were lifted there every day. -
International Alliances: NATO
Canada joined other Western European countries in a military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) created for a mutual defense alliance. This meant that if one of the countries in this pact were attacked then all of the other countries would come to their aid. The communist countries attempt to create a better pact called the Warsaw Pact. Both alliances started piling up weapons. When piling up weapons Canada refused to have any nuclear weapons on Canadian soil. -
Continental Alliances: NORAD and DEW
NORAD stands for the North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD is the agreement between Canada and the USA to defend each other. DEW stands for Distant Early Warning and was designed as a warning line for defence in the Cold war in case of an invasion of North America. This was placed in the Northwest Territories by the Americans. -
The Korean War
This was also known as the "forgotten war." This war lasted from 1950 to 1953 when an armistice was signed ending the war. Despite this there is still a lot of tension between North Korea and South Korea. North Korea is communist and was influenced by the Soviet Union. South Korea was influenced by the United Nations and was democratic. Canada sent many men to fight the war and later on guard the wall dividing North Korea from South Korea. -
Vietnam War & Draft Dodger in Canada
The American draft dodgers along with military abandoners, who sought refuge in Canada during the Vietnam War, ignited controversy. During the battle with many men dyeing overseas the antiwar movement divided the United State. Seeking sanctuary draft dodgers and deserters moved up to Canada to escape the war. -
UN Peacekeeping: The Suez Crisis and Pearson wins the Nobel Prize
The Middle East has been a threat to world peace. The UN created the new state of Israel as a homeland for all of the Jewish people in 1948 making the Arabs angry wanting to destroy Israel. The Suez Canal in Egypt was an important river that was used as a transportation route by Britain. They fought over this and soon they were at the brink of war. Lester Pearson found a solution to this problem which involved Canada to patrol that area and keep the peace. This gave Pearson a Nobel Peace Prize. -
Sputnik and Canada's Space Program
Sputnik is the first manmade object to enter the Earth’s Orbit. It was created by the Soviet Union and shocked everyone and worried everyone because this satellite could be used to spy on them. -
Avro Arrow and its Cancelation
Diefenbaker cancelled Avro Arrow project which was a sleek white jet interceptor developed in Melton Ontario. This Avro Arrow could have become a great discovery and been the fastest plane in the world, being a great weapon. Instead the $400 million dollar project was scraped. 14,000 Canadians became unemployed due to this cancelation and many people didn’t plan to vote on Diefenbaker. This day soon became known as "Black Friday". -
Diefenbaker, Bomarc missiles and nuclear warheads in Canada
This took the Avro Arrows projects place Diefenbaker orders American Bomarc missiles for Canada's defence. The USA put nuclear tips in the missiles which were not allowed in Canada. There was a big debate wether to keep the missiles in Canada. This move limited American control over when Canadian missiles would be used. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Fidel Castro takes power then soon becomes allies with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union put a missile sight in Cuba. October 14 1962 one of the spy planes flew over and took a photo of the Soviet sight. The US got very angry and warned Canada about Cuba and told them about the missile sight. The Canadian Prime Minister asked for proof and the US government became irritated and livid that Canada didn’t believe them. It got to the point when Canada took its Ambassador out of Washington. This was -
Canada Soviet Hockey Series
The Canadian Soviet Hockey series, also called the "Summit Series”, played an important role in the Canadian/Soviet hockey history. This hockey series consisted of Canada's and Russia's best NHL players. Russia surprised Canada with its skills. And after 7 games was tied with Canada. Then when the final game came around they were tied again until Canada scored a goal. Making Canada win the Canada-Soviet Summit Series. Many people took the day off work to watch Canada play the Soviets. -
The fall of the Berlin Wall
The border dividing western from Eastern and Western Germany collapsed and symbolized the end of the cold war. This made the west available in the middle of the east creating chaos. -
The fall of the Soviet Union
When the Soviet Union fell it ended the Cold War and many people rejoiced. The Soviet Union got divided into 5 different countries. Canada finnaly felt peace at last.
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