Canada and Conflict in the Cold War

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Canada and Conflict in the Cold War
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Key Terms

• The Korean War
• Suez Crisis
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• Avro Arrow
• The Nuclear Issue
• Vietnam War

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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

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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

5
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

6
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.

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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.

8
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.

9
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.

10
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.

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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.

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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
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Cuban Missile Crisis

• The PM thought he was looking out for Canadas
  independence, but polls showed that 80 of
  Canadians thought he did the wrong thing.

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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.

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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 Its War! Its
  Russia!.
• 18 people were arrested with 8 eventually
  convicted of spying - likely trying to get Atomic
  Bomb secrets.

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The Nuclear Issue

• The Canadian government continued to struggle
  with the question of whether or not to accept
  nuclear weapons on Canadian soil.

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The Nuclear Issue

• Diefenbaker waffled on the idea when he accepted
  Beaumarc Missiles - designed for a nuclear
  payload - but never armed them with warheads.

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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.

19
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.

20
Vietnam War

• Prime Minister Pearson openly criticized the US
  bombing policy and was physically assaulted by
  the American President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ).

21
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?.

22
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.

23
Vietnam War

• By 1975, the United States withdrew from Vietnam
  in large part due to pressure put on them by
  their own people.

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Lets Think About It
Hot 10
Rate the Decisions Made by Canadas Government in
each of the situations. Use a scale of 1 to 10 -
1 being Poor to 10 being Excellent .
Cold 1
Cuban Missile Crisis
Nuclear Issue
Vietnam
Korea