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The Cold War
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Espionage
Both sides in the cold war launched intelligence-gathering missions in order to gain information about the opposing side's weaponry, intentions and technology. for example, Igor Gouzenko provided evidence to lead to the arrests of 22 local agents and 15 Soviet spies in Canada. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was a massive expidition to supply West Berlin with food and supplies by means of airlift. The airlift was initiated because of a land and water blockade placed by soviets to get the Allies to abandon West Berlin. The lift lasted until September 1949 even though the blockades were lifted four months earlier. -
Korean War
After WWII, Korea was divided at the 38th parallell into Notrh Korea, (Communists), and South Korea, (non-Communists). On June 25th, 1950, the North launched an offensive on the South, but the U.S. and U.N. (including over 26 000 Canadians) deployed military forces and pushed the Communists north almost to the border of Communist China, where the Chineese joined with the Koreans and pushed the center of battle back ot the 38th parallell where it stayed for the rest of the war. -
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Korean War
After WWII, Korea was divided at the 38th parallell into Notrh Korea, controlled by Communists, and South Korea, controlled by non-Communists. On June 25th, 1950, the North launched an offensive on the South, but the U.S. and U.N. deployed military forces and pushed the Communists north almost to the border of Communist China, where the Chineese joined with the Koreans and pushed the center of battle back ot the 38th parallell where it stayed for the rest of the war. -
The Colombo Plan
The Colombo Plan was created during a Commonwealth conference of foreign ministers that was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in January of 1950. The plan's purpose was to bring nations in the Asia and Pacific regions closer together through foreign aid, and assistance for the economic and social development of a region. Canada was one of the founding members in 1950. -
Avro Arrow
The Avro Arrow was a supersonic, long ranged interceptor designed by Avro Canada and began development in April of 1953. Its role was to protect against the threat of Soviet bombers attacking North America over the Arctic. However, due to rising costs, lack of an interested market willing to buy the plane, and decreased threat from bombers, and other reasons, the project was cancelled on February 20th, 1959. The reslt was a loss of over 29 000 jobs. -
Suez Crisis
The Suez crisis was an invasion of Egypt beginning in late 1956 by Israeli, British and French forces. The attack followed the decision of Gamel Abdel Nasser to nationalize the Suez Canal, and its primary objectives were to gain western control of the canal and to remove Nassar from power. Britain and France withdrew their forces before the end of 1956, but Israel persisted into March 1957. There is sufficient evidence to prove that the attack was previously planned by the three countries. -
Suez Crisis Cont.
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Hungaian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution was a revolt against the People's Republic of Hungary, and its communist government. The revolt was successful and fighting began to stop by the end of October, but Soviet troops were sent in to intervene. By November 10th -the end of the conflict- over 2500 Hungarians and 700 Soviets were killed. Over 200 000 Hungarians fled as refugees from Hungary, and 37 000 came to Canada, mostly to Toronto, where its existing Hungarian population had raised $900 000 to help these r -
Rise of the Berlin Wall
Constructed in secret during the night, the Berlin Wall was a means of keeping east Germans in communist east Germany, and keeping west Germans in non-communist west Germany. Germany was divided into 4 parts: the east belonging to the Soviets, and the west split up between the US, Great Britain and France. The two sides were like two different countries, the east being socialist, and the west being capitalist, both with totally different and contrasting lifestyles. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis is consideres the closest the world ever got to nuclear war. It began when Nikita Khrushchev decided to construct nuclear missiles in Cuba, intended as defencive measure to deter the U.S. from attacking the Soviet Union. The problem arose when reconniassence photos showed Soviet missile construction in Cuba. American President John Kennidy was informed and he created EX-COMM. After much tension, the conflict was resolved and Khrushchev removed the missile installations. -
Peacekeeping-Cyprus
In 1964, Canadian peacekeepers began their mission on the island of Cyprus, involving the conflict between the Turkish and Greek inhabitants of the nation. In total, over 25 000 Canadian Forces members served in Cyprus, with the loss of approximately 125 Canadians. Canada was involved for 29 years, until 1993, making it one of Canada's longest peacekeeping missions. -
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Canadian Peacekeeping in Cyprus
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SALT Agreement
The SALT, or Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty was a series of conferences between the U.S. and Soviet Union regarding the limitation and control of strategic nuclear missiles. Out of this agreement came the ABM treaty and the Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. Basically, the treaties prohibit the construction of additional nuclear missile systems, and the arsenals could not exceed a certain limit. -
The Summit Series
The Summit Series marked the first time Canadian and Soviet professional hockey teams have competed against each other. Canada had not participated in hockey in the winter Olympic Games after 1969 because the Olympic teams did not allow for "professional" players, and Canada's team had NHL players on it. Canada won the eight game series 4 games to 3 with one tie, but the Soviet's "non-professional" team performed quite well. The series earned both countries some respect for one another. -
Nicaraguan Revolution
In 1979, a revolution took place in Nicaragua in opposition to their Somoza dictatorship. The campaign was lead by the Sandinista National Liberation Front , or FSLN and lead to the eventual violent ousting of the Somoza government in 1979. The rule of the FSLN, a socialist party, lead to some refugees coming to canada in the 1980's and 90's. The end of the cold war partially lead to the electoral defeat of the FSLN in 1990, ending the revolution. Nearly 10 000 Nicaraguans immigrated to Canada. -
Afghanistan in the 1980's
A civil war broke out in Afghanistan after the USSR withdrew its occupation in the early 1980's. Through the early 1980's, the UN general council attempted to find ways to end the war, yet they were unsuccessful. The war had devistating effects, resulting in over 4.5 million refugees and having over half of the population displaced. The war crippled the country's economy. In 1987, an agreement was signed to remove foreign troops from Afghanistan. -
1980 and 1984 Olympic Boycotts
The 1980 summer Olympic Games, held in Moscow, Russia were boycotted by Canada, and an incredible 64 other countries. The massive boycott occured because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan a year earlier. There was an Olympic Boycott Games held in Philadelphia for boycotting countries that wished to participate. In response to this, and because the coutries felt threatened, the USSR and 17 other communist supporting countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympic games in Los Angeles, California. -
Strategic Defence Initiative
The Strategic Defence Initiative was proposed by Ronald Reagan in 1983. It was popularily known as "Star Wars" because of the popular George Lucas film, and partly beause its projecs tended to be very ambitious and unrealistic for the period's tehnology. The projects focused on protection from Russian ballistic missiles, and included various types of orbital missile interceptors and sensors, and directed energy weapons such as x-ray and chemical lasers. Past treaties also had to be considered. -
Gorbachev's Revolution
In March 1985, Gorbachev came to power in the USSR. He proposed and started a political and social "revolution" that would adopt a more capitalistic style. One of his policies was the perestrokia.It allowed for things such as independant actions of various companies and ministries. It also gave citizens of the USSR much more freedom than they previously had. The perestrokia arguably lead to the breakup of the Soviet Union, and is considered one of the causes of the end of the Cold War. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall is probably what most symbolises the end of the cold war. With Gorbachev in power in the Soviet Union, their government, and also the governments of supporting countries began to change, and communism began to die. Thousands of East Germans escaped to the west when the irom curtain between Austria and Hungary was lifted, and soon travel restrictions were lifted in Germany with a forced change of government. The first border opening occured at Bornholmer Strasse.
