To what extent did Canada play a significant role in Cold War events?

Use examples from the

period 19451990.
The twentieth century was a time for bloody warfare, advances in technology, and trends that
revolutionized the world. It was also an era in which new political ideologies rose and fell. Of the new
types of political philosophies, the two that were most opposite to each other were democracy and
communism. From 1945-1990 these two philosophies shaped and changed the world, and was the driving
force behind the Cold War. Though the two main superpowers of the Cold War were the Soviet Union and
the United States, Canada was inevitably drawn into the Cold War. This essay will discuss the actions that
Canada took, including the ones that helped fuel the Cold War and the ones that implied they did not
support the policies of their allies.
One such way that Canada tried to protect itself from the Russian bear was make alliances. By
the end of World War II, United Nations (UN) was formed, with Canada as one of its founding countries.
Canada had hoped that this would solve the problem of the Cold War. But the UN, with no military force
of its own, could not enforce its rulings on the USSR (Soviet Union) and the problem worsened as the
Soviets were given the power to veto important rulings against them. Therefore, in 1949, Canada joined
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), an organization based on the principal of collective security
and would grant them protection and support from other countries if they were ever invaded. Years after,
with the threat of nuclear war still very real, a bilateral alliance was formed among the Canadians and
Americans, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command).
Along with treaties (NATO and NORAD), Canada also made significant contributions to the Cold
War. From 1950-1953, Canadian troops participated in the UNs first ever large-scale peacekeeping
mission: the Korean War. Around 30,000 Canadian troops were sent to suppress the communist North
Korea. Then three years later, Canada played a significant peacekeeping role during the Suez Canal
Crisis. The future Prime Minister of Canada, Lester Pearson, deployed his diplomatic skills during this
crisis and helped to prevent conflict. He was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Pearson
also was the mind behind creating a UN peacekeeping force, one that we still use today.
However, not everything Canada did support their democratic allies. Throughout the Cold War,
there was the question of American influence on Canada and Canadian sovereignty. Several prime
ministers tried to anchor Canadian authority during the Cold War. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, PM
John Diefenbaker had originally refused to put the Canadian NORAD bases on alert and he even implied
that he did not believe the American President John F. Kennedy. Pierre Trudeau was another Prime
Minister that wanted to chart an independent foreign policy. He began to slowly pull Canada out of the
Cold War by cutting the national defence budget year by year. Then he began the removal of nuclear
warheads from Canadian soil. And, in an action that was greatly frowned upon by the democratic world,
Pierre Trudeau formally recognized Communist China as a country, as well as, developed a close personal
relationship with the communist leader of Cuba, Castro.
As communism rose and fell and the Cold War drew to a close, two things were clear: Canada
had made major and significant contributions to the Cold war events and Canada did not always support
its allies. But regardless, Canada was a main component in Cold War events. So as the world moves on
and time passes, let it not be forgotten that Canada played a significant role in the Cold War.