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Quebec's Padlock Law
It was a bill that was passed to protect the province of Quebec against communist propaganda. A violation of the Act subjected such property to being ordered closed by the Attorney General - "padlocked" - against any use whatsoever for a period of up to one year, and any person found guilty of involvement in prohibited media activities could be incarcerated for three to thirteen months. It was signifficant because it would help Canada not go into Communism. -
Spies in Canada: Gouzenko Affair
Igor Gouzenko was also known as "The man in the Hood." He wrote a book called "The Fall of a Titan" which portrayed all of the Soviet secrets and spies. It received the Governer General's Award and was very popular. He offered the Government secret documents for in return permanent protection. Government accepted the information an 18 of the 39 people named were convicted of criminal activities related to spying. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crisises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. This was significant to Canada because the Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift which is how they delivered the supplies to Berlin. -
International Alliances: NATO
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is a defence pact intended to protect members from further Soviet aggression. Countries like Canada were worried about the spread of communism into their countries. All members pledged to defend each other from enemy attacks. There were 12 founding members. This is significant because it would defend Canada and the other countries from the Soviets and Communism. In retaliation the Soviets created the Warsaw Pact. -
"The Forgotten War"- The Korean War
The Communst China attacked South Korea. The United States supported South Korea against the Communist aggression. The UN's Security Council condemned the attack by North Korea and called UN members "to render every assissstance" to South Korea. Of all the member nations only 16 aided in the war effort in Korea. This was significant to Canada because nearly 25 000 Canadians saw action during the war. 406 were killed, 1000 were injured. -
Vietnam War & Draft Dodgers in Canada
Canada sold $2.5 billion of war materials (ammunition, napalm, aircraft engines and explosives)to the Pentagon and another $10 billion in food, beverages, berets and boots for the troops was exported to the U.S., as well as nickel, copper, lead, brass and oil for shell casings, wiring, plate armour and military transport. In Canada unemployment fell to record low levels of 3.9%. As many as 60 000 americans dodged the draft by moving to Canada. -
UN Peacekeeping. The Suez Crisis and Pearson wins Nobel Prize
There was a dispute over land between Israel and Irag, Syria, and Egypt. The US, France and Britain supported Israel and the Soviet Union supported Iraq, Syria and Egypt. The land was an interest to these countries due to the amount of land and its large petroleum reserves. This was significant to Canada because Pearson's plan was to send in UN peacekeepers from all of the countries. Canada supplied the most troops at 600 and Pearson later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957. -
Sputnik and Canada's Space Program
On October 4 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space. This in itself was not a problem but the rocket that was used to put Sputnik into space could also be used to launch warheads a long distance, long enough to hit anywhere in North America. This caused paranoia throughtout the continent thinking what the US did to Japan could happen at any moment. -
Continental Alliances: NORAD and DEW line
The NORAD agreement was signed in 1958. By its terms Canada and the US agreed to help defend each other. Canada permitted the US to build several defence installations in the Northwest territories to create the Distant Early Warning system known as the DEW line. High powered antennae at stations along the DEW line can pick up an approaching aircraft and missles from 4800km away.This warns NORAD and they can take action.This is significant to Canada because it can defend them and its in our land. -
Avro Arrow and its Cancellation
The Avro Arrow was Canadian made and designed bringing pride and work to Canadians. When it was cancelled it cost 14 000 people their jobs and the economy slowed down. Diefenbacker and his conservatives were the ones to discontinue the Avro Arrow. -
The Cuban Missle Crisis
In 1962 American spy planes photographed the construction of Soviet missle sites on the Island of Cuba. From here any city in North America could be accurately hit. President Kenedy quickly imposed a naval blockade around the island to stop Soviet ships from delivering missles and warheads. Canada suggested rather than a blockade all suspected missle sites should be investigated by an expert. In the end the blockade remained and the Soviets turned back and the threat of war was over. -
Diefenbacker, Bomarc missles and nuclear warheads in Canada
John Diefenbacker agreed to deploy the Bomarc missles and shortly after scrapped the Avro Arrow saying it was now unnecessary. There was a debate whether or not to use a nuclear payload on them but it was eventually a no. When Diefenbacker was voted out in 1963 and Pearson was voted in Pearson's Liberal's decided to have a nuclear payload on the Bomarc missles -
Canada-Soviet Hockey Series
(Watch '72 Summit Series, Paul Hendersons Goal)Also known as the '72 Summit Series a Canadian hockey team composed of NHL players played against a Russian squad. In Game 7 of the series Paul Henderson scored with only minutes to go to win the series. It brought pride to Canadians back home. Amatuer hockey teams have previously struggled with Russian teams but Canada's best pros were able to win. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
After WWII ended, Germany was split in half, causing there to be a West Berlin (USA-occupied sector of Berlin) and an East Berlin (Soviet-occupied sector of Berlin). A wall was erected and people did not have freedom to travel between East and West Germany. The wall was there until November 9, 1989, and was taken down due to a lot of political pressure in East Germany starting then. The wall coming down showed that democracy has prevailed, Canada already had democracy. -
The Fall of the Soviet Union
On the previous day, 25 December 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned, declaring his office extinct, and handed over the Soviet nuclear missile launching codes to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. That same evening at 7:32 P.M. the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin and replaced with the Russian tricolor. The dissolution of the world's first and largest Communist state also marked an end to the Cold War. The significance to Canada was they were apart of the Cold War.
