Canada's Role in the Cold War - Britt MacKinnon

Quebec’s Padlock Law

Jan 1, 1937

 Cold War tensions create the “Red Scare” of communism throughout Canada
 In Quebec, Premier Maurice Duplessis was a determined supporter of anti-communist
 Premier Maurice Duplessis introduced the Quebec Padlock Act in 1937 to give police the power to seal off any property where communist literature or activity was suspected

Spies in Canada: Gouzenko Affair

Sep 5, 1945

Igor Gouzenko on Soviet SpyingGouzenko Affair Testimony Soviet Union trained Igor Gouzenko to be a spy in western countries on a mission to steal the secrets of the atomic bomb
 Gouzenko was assigned to the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa (1943)
 In 1945, Gouzenko offered the Canadian government the secret documents exposing Soviet spies in return for permanent Canadian residence and protection
 The secret documents reveling Soviet spies allowed for 18 of 39 spies to be captured thereby preventing the USSR from stealing the atomic bomb secrets

Berlin Blockade (June 1948 - May 1949)

Jun 24, 1948

Berlin Blockade Soviet Union discarded the Yalta Conference agreement of the division of Berlin that gave the US, Britain and France control of West Berlin USSR strived to force its former allies out of West Berlin by blocking all supply lines into the city Blockade attempt failed as the former allies had organized an airlift to provide food and supplies to West Berlin citizens Created boiling tensions causing the US to discuss plans with Canada about how to protect North America from Soviet aggression

International Alliances: NATO

Apr 4, 1949

 Soviet Union wanting to spread communist system, causing Canada and the US to become worried about national security
 Formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a defense pact to protect member nations from Soviet aggression
 Member Nations: Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the US
 If the Soviet Union attacked any NATO member nation, then the other NATO nations would help defend against the USSR

“The Forgotten War”: The Korean War

Jun 25, 1950

Canada's troops head to Korea Communist North Korea is supported by communist China on their attack of South Korea
 Whereas, South Korea is supported by the US against communist aggression
 Canada ranked 3rd in total aid to South Korea as 25000 Canadians saw action before the truce of 1953
 UN supported of South Korea’s independence and asked Canadian troops to stay in Korea until 1955 to help maintain the peace after the cease fire

Avro Arrow and its Cancellation

Apr 14, 1953

Avro Arrow's Maiden Flight, 1958 The Avro Arrow began development in April of 1953 and was a supersonic, long ranged interceptor fighter jet
 The role of the Avro Arrow was to protect against the threat of Soviet bombers attacking North America over the Arctic
 However, the project was abruptly cancelled on February 20th, 1959 by Prime Minister Diefenbaker due to the expensive cost and the decrease in the threat of Soviet attack by bombers

Continual Alliances: NORAD and DEW line

Feb 15, 1954

DEW Line North American Air Defense (NORAD) agreement signed in 1958 was an alliance between the US and Canada to help defend each other against the USSR
 Canada granted the US permission to build the Distant Early Warning system (DEW line) in the Northwest Territories in order to detect oncoming enemy aircraft and missiles in a 4800km radius
 Upon the DEW line warning signal of approaching enemy aircrafts or missiles, the NORAD headquarters would be alerted

Vietnam War & Draft Dodgers in Canada

Nov 1, 1955

 In 1954, France and Vietnam declared a cease-fire and the country was divided into two parts: communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam
 US afraid of “domino effect” that would spread communism to all of Vietnam
 Draft Dodgers were the thousands upon thousands of young Americans that refused to fight in the Vietnam War and fled to Canada in order to avoid being drafted into the US army
 20 000 draft dodgers and 12 000 army deserters fled to Canada

UN Peacekeeping: The Suez Crisis

Jul 26, 1956

Lester Pearson's Suez Solution In Egypt, the Suez Canal is a critical waterway passage for Britain and France because it connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea
 Britain & France are outraged when Egyptian President Nasser nationalizes and takes control over the Suez Canal
 Britain, France and Israel secretly develop a military strike to regain control and attack Egypt
 The Soviet Union threatens to join fight as Egypt’s ally But, the NORAD partners of Britain and France believe that the attack on Egypt was wrong

Sputnik and Canada’s Space Program

Oct 4, 1957

Sputnik Launch  Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite - the 1st artificial satellite to be put into the Earth's orbit
 The rocket that allowed for the Sputnik to go into orbit may also be used by the USSR to transport a nuclear warhead to North America thereby giving the Soviets the edge on military power over the US
 Sputnik’s success created the high demand the on United States and Canada to join the "space race"

UN Peacekeeping: Pearson wins Nobel Prize

Dec 10, 1957

Pearson wins Nobel PrizePearson was Canada’s Secretary of State for External Affairs and was responsible for the Suez Crisis solutionSolution: establish an international police force to force a cease fire and restore peace The UN peacekeeping force had over 6000 troops and Canada provided the largest contribution of 800 troopsThe Suez Crisis was the UN's 1st designated peacekeeping mission and was the birth of the 1st UN Emergency Force Pearson awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his Suez Crisis solution

Diefenbaker, Bomarc Missiles & Nuclear Warheads in Canada

May 15, 1958

 After cancelling the construction of the Avro Arrow, Prime Minister Diefenbaker ordered American Bomarc missiles that were to be used for Canada’s defense against the Soviets
 However, instead of missiles Canada received warheads which were NOT permitted on Canadian soil thereby limiting the US control of when Canadian missiles would be deployed for defending North America

Canada's Space Program - Alouette 1

Sep 29, 1962

Canadian Alouette 1  The Soviet's success with the Sputnik satellite motivated Canada to focus on the space race
 "Alouette 1" was Canada's 1st successful satellite launch
 After the launch of "Alouett 1", Canada was the 3rd country to lauch a satellite into orbit and join the "Space Age"- USSR was the 1st country and US was the 2nd country to launch a satellite into orbit

The Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct 15, 1962

The Cuban Missile Crisis US detection of a Soviet ballistic missile on a launching site in Cuba, threatened the safety of North America The USSR finally agreed to remove the missiles in return for a secret commitment from the U.S. to withdraw its own missiles from Turkey and to never invade Cuba  Canada refused to put its troops on alert, as Diefenbaker-Kennedy relation was tense Closest the world had ever came to nuclear war thereby increasing the tensions during the Cold War and fueling the nuclear arms race

Canada-Soviet Hockey Series

Sep 28, 1972

Goal of the Century National Hockey League tournament was held between Canada and the USSR
 Canada won the Summit Series in the 8th game with Paul Henderson’s goal
 The hockey rivalry between Canada and the Soviet Union allowed people to briefly escape the horrors of the Cold War by focusing on the hockey game

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Nov 9, 1989

Fall of the Berlin Wall During the Cold War the Berlin Wall was the border dividing the democratic West Berlin from the Communist East Berlin
 Berlin Wall prevented communist-ruled East Berlin citizens from escaping to West Berlin for 28 years
 Fall of Berlin Wall helped Germany become unified
 Marked the official end of the Cold War

The Fall of the Soviet Union

Dec 25, 1991

 Soviet economy crippled by the detrimental years of overspending on military expenses during the Cold War
 USSR citizens pushed for an end of the communist one-party system as they wanted greater political and economic freedoms
 New Leader of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, banned the Communist Party
 Communism government replaced by a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
 The Cold War finally ended after more than a 45-year arms race between the US and the Soviet Union