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Padlock Law
The Quebec government introduced this Act to protect the Province against Communist Propaganda. The legislation gave the Attorney General such widespread powers that it was used to persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, communists, trade unionists and other suspected ‘subversives.’ The law became a rallying point for civil libertarians who considered the legislation one of the most repressive laws in Canadian history. -
"Spies in Canada": Gouzenko Affair
Igor Gouzenko worked in the Soviet embassy in Canada as a cipher clerk. He defected to the west because at the time Russia and the West were supposed to be allies, but Stalin was spying on his allies and Gouzenko was disgusted by this. So when he found out that he was going to be sent home, for whatever reason, he decided to defect, taking some documents revealing the existence of an espionage ring in Canada with him. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was an attempt in 1948 by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of France, Great Britain and the United States to travel to their sectors of Berlin, which lay within Russian-occupied East Germany. Eventually, the western powers instituted an airlift that lasted nearly a year and delivered much-needed supplies and relief to West Berlin. Coming just three years after the end of World War II, the blockade was the first major clash of the Cold War and foreshadowed future conflict -
International Alliances: NATO
Nato, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an international alliance of 26 countries of Europe and North America created to ensure the peace and security of the North Atlantic region. Nato was founded to fulfill its goal of safeguarding the freedom and security of its members by way of political and military means. -
"The Forgotten War" Korean War (1950-1953)
World War II divided Korea into a Communist, northern half and an American-occupied southern half. The Korean War began when the North Korean Communist army invaded non-Communist South Korea. The North Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, quickly overran South Korea, the United Sates came to South Koreas aid. On July 27 1953, with a new regime in the USSR and the blunting of a final Communist offensive, negotiations concluded and fighting ended. -
Continental Alliances: Norad and Dew line
The Distant Early Warning line began on 15 February 1954. The DEW Line was the primary air defence warning line in case of an over-the-pole invasion of the North America. Attack, over the North Pole by enemy nuclear bombers and missiles was considered a real threat to the security of the United States. The DEW Line consisted of radar stations with “over lapping” radar coverage and the ability to detect aircraft and missiles. -
Vietnam War and Draft Dodgers in Canada
Canada did not/was not going fight in the Vietnam War so American draft dodgers sought refuge in Canada during that time. This started controversy among those trying to immigrate to Canada, The Canadian government’s then refuesed to admit those who could not prove that they had been discharged from the military. -
UN Peacekeeping: the Suz Crisis
The Suez Crisis, was a diplomatic and military confrontation in late 1956. It was Egypt against Britain, France and Israel. The United States, the Soviet Union and the United Nations played huge roles in forcing Britain, France and Israel to withdraw from the confrentation. -
Sputnik and Canada's Space Program
Sputnik one was the first artificial Earth satellite and was launched by the Soviet Union into an elliptical low Earth orbit. The success later inatited the American Sputnik crisis. This began the Space Age and triggered the Space Race, a bigger part of the Cold War. The launch founded new political, military, and scientific inhancements. -
Avro Arrow and Its Cancellation
The Soviet Union began making a fleet of long-range bombers with the ability to get nuclear weapons across North America and Europe. The main threat was the high-speed, high-altitude bombing runs launched over the Arctic against military bases in Canada and the United States. To counter this threat, the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was made as a delta-winged interceptor aircraft. The Arrow's cancellation was on 20 February 1959. The day became known as Black Friday in the Canadian aviation industry. -
Diefenbaker, Bomarc Missiles and Nuclear Warheads in Canada
In 1959, the Progressive Conservative government of John Diefenbaker, deployed 56 American-made Bomarc missiles in Ontario and Quebec. Initially, the government did not release to the Canadian public that the missiles were to be fitted with nuclear weapons. This fact became known in 1960, causing a controversy over whether nuclear weapons were to be deployed on Canadian soil. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba agianst, the US. This Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. Luckily, thanks to the bravery of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, war was averted. -
Canadian-Soviet Hockey Series
The Summit Series, or Super Series, known at the time simply as the Canada–USSR Series, was an eight-game series of hockey played between the Soviet Union and Canada. It was the first competition between the Soviet national team and a Canadian national team known as Team Canada. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
As Communism began to waver in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, new evactuation points were opened to the East Germans who wanted to flee to the West. An announcement made by East German government official Günter Schabowski stated, "Permanent relocations can be done through all border checkpoints between East Germany into West Germany or West Berlin." -
The Fall of the Soviet Union
In December of 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries. Its collapse was hailed by the west as a victory for freedom, a success of democracy over all. The United States rejoiced as its formidable enemy was defeated, thereby ending the Cold War.
