Canada and Conflict in the Cold
War
Key Terms
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The Korean War
Suez Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
Avro Arrow
The Nuclear Issue
Vietnam War
The Korean War
• After WWII, Korea was a divided
country
• North = Communist = Soviet and
Chinese Ally
• South = fragile Democracy =
USA ally
• 1950 war begins
• North invaded the South
The Korean War
• UN force, mostly American, went in
• Canada, too sent thousands of
troops and three naval destroyers
• in UN, Pearson argues for ceasefire
• US considers use of nuclear
weapons
• ceasefire reached in 1953
The Korean War
Epilogue
• nearly 30 000 troops served in
action
• 1558 total casualties for Canadians
• 516 deaths for Canadians
• once again, Canada made
participated beyond her size as a
nation
The Suez Crisis
• The Suez Canal is an
important shipping route in
the Middle East.
• The canal was privately
owned, but was on
Egyptian territory.
• The Egyptian President was
angry at Western leaders
over a dam project they did
not support, so, he seized
control of the canal.
The Suez Crisis
• Canadian diplomat - Lester
Pearson - proposed that a
UN emergency force be sent
to the Canal Zone to
separate and mediate
between the opposing sides.
• Lead by a Canadian general,
the force was composed of
troops from countries not
involved in the conflict.
The Suez Crisis
• His plan worked and a
peaceful resolution to a
conflict that had
threatened to involve
Israel and the Soviet
Union was reached.
• For his part, Pearson was
awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• In 1958, Fidel Castro
overthrew the US
backed government of
Cuba and made it a
Communist country.
• Cuba is less than 150
km from Florida.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• The US mounted a
failed invasion of
Cuba in 1961 in an
attempt to overthrow
the Communists.
• This prompted the
Cubans to turn to the
Soviets for support.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• In 1962, American
spy planes
photographed
Nuclear Missile bases
on Cuba.
• Tensions rose when
the Americans
blockaded Cuba so
that no missiles could
reach the sites.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• The US expected full
support from Canada.
• Canadian Prime Minister
Diefenbaker did not
support the American plan
and failed to answer
American requests for
assistance for two days.
• This infuriated the
Americans.
"This action by the State
Department of the U.S. is
unprecedented...it constitutes an
unwarranted intrusion in Canadian
affairs... [Canada] will not be
pushed around or accept external
domination or interference in
making its decisions." "President
Kennedy was going to obliterate
us. I dared to say to him that
Canada's policies would be made
in Canada by Canadians.”
Diefenbaker
Cuban Missile Crisis
• The PM thought he
was looking out for
Canada’s
independence, but
polls showed that
80% of Canadians
thought he did the
wrong thing.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• The crisis was
defused in 13 days
after the Americans
traded the
dismantling of bases
in Turkey for the
dismantling of the
Cuban bases.
Avro Arrow
• The Cold War was brought home to Canada by the
Gouzenko Affair.
• Igor Gouzenko, a clerk at the Soviet Embassy in
Ottawa exposed a Soviet spy ring in Canada in
1945. Newspaper headlines read: “It’s War! It’s
Russia!”.
• 18 people were arrested with 8 eventually
convicted of spying - likely trying to get Atomic
Bomb secrets.
The Nuclear Issue
• The Canadian
government
continued to
struggle with the
question of whether
or not to accept
nuclear weapons on
Canadian soil.
The Nuclear Issue
• Diefenbaker waffled
on the idea when he
accepted Beaumarc
Missiles - designed
for a nuclear
payload - but never
armed them with
warheads.
The Nuclear Issue
• In 1963 the issue was at the
centre of the election
campaign.
• Diefenbaker fought his
campaign on an anti-American
platform, while Liberal leader
Lester Pearson (remember the
Peace Prize), ran on a policy of
accepting nuclear weapons.
• Pearson won the election
narrowly.
• Later, nuclear weapons were
accepted.
Vietnam War
• Like Korea, a communist
North fought a capitalist
South in Vietnam.
• The US supported the South
while the Soviets and the
Chinese supported the North.
• By 1965 - 66 the Americans
were involved in a massive
bombing operation and had
committed 190 000 troops to
the Vietnam war.
Vietnam War
• Prime Minister
Pearson openly
criticized the US
bombing policy and
was physically
assaulted by the
American President
Lyndon B. Johnson
(LBJ).
Vietnam War
• The Vietnam war was the
first war to be televised.
• The coverage showed the
horrors of the war and lead to
growing opposition in both
the US and Canada.
• Demonstrators would shout:
“Hey Hey LBJ! How many
kids have you killed today?”.
Vietnam War
• Young men from the US
(draft dodgers) came to
Canada to escape
participation in the war.
• Canada was becoming
known as a peaceful
nation - less violent than
the US.
Vietnam War
• By 1975, the United
States withdrew from
Vietnam in large part
due to pressure put
on them by their own
people.
Let’s Think About It
Hot
10
Cold
1
Rate the Decisions Made by
Canada’s Government in
each of the situations. Use
a scale of 1 to 10 - 1 being
Poor to 10 being Excellent .
Korea Cuban Nuclear Vietnam
Missile Issue
Crisis