2. Canada and the World after WW II
1945-2000
How Ready Are You?
1. To what extent has the UN been successful in
meeting its mandate?
2. Evaluate Canada’s contributions to the UN and
its record on Human rights.
3. To what extent was Canada’s relationship
with the US positive from 1945-2000?
3. How Ready Are You?
Explain the essence of the cold war.
4.
5.
6.
7. The Cold War
• The ideological struggle between the two
new superpowers in the bi-polar world
after WW II was called the cold war: The
US (capitalist/ democratic) and the Soviet
Union (communist/ dictatorship). It was
called the cold war because the two
countries never actually fought each other.
Instead they used espionage,
propaganda, economic and political
pressures. Also they supported other
countries on their side in wars (ex. North
8. Containment in the Cold War
• Both sides feared the other. The US worried about
worldwide communist revolution while the USSR worried
about encirclement by capitalist countries leading to its
collapse. The US believed in the domino theory (if one
country in a region falls to communism the others will
too) and used containment (don’t let any new countries
become communist so it doesn’t spread) to prevent
communism from spreading. This belief developed
because right after WW II the USSR established Soviet
style communist governments in Bulgaria, Hungary,
Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia and East Germany.
These countries were considered Soviet Satellite
States and said to be behind the iron curtain.
9. Containment
• The US practiced containment by
promising to support democratic countries,
especially those threatened by
communism. They also gave billions of
dollars in the Marshall Plan to rebuild
Europe to prevent communism from
advancing.
10.
11. How Ready Are You?
Explain the essence of the cold war.
Explain the US policy of containment.
14. The United Nations
• UN created in 1945 by 50 countries to
keep world peace, encourage
cooperation among nations, defend
human rights and help promote
equality, to improve the standard of
living for all nations.
15. Structure of the UN
General Assembly – Deals with all UN
business. Includes all member countries
(192 today) and requires a 2/3 majority for
important decisions.
16.
17. UN Security Council
Security Council – focused on world peace and
has the power to force the members of the UN to
carry out its decisions. Includes 5 permanent
members (France, Britain, Russian Federation,
China, United States) and 10 non-permanent
members elected to two year terms.
• The permanent members have veto power (if
one disagrees with something it doesn’t
happen).
20. How Ready Are You?
What was the Gouzenko affair and why
was it significant?
21. Canada Early in the Cold War
The Gouzenko Affair – In 1945 a clerk at
the Soviet embassy in Ottawa provided
the Canadian gov’t clear evidence that two
Soviet spy rings were operating in
Canada. This lead to the Red Scare, a
massive fear of communism. Lots of
people were paranoid of the ‘Reds’ or
‘Commis’ or ‘Bolsheviks’.
22.
23. How Ready Are You?
• What was the Gouzenko affair and why
was it significant?
24. How Ready Are You?
What was the Gouzenko affair and why
was it significant?
25. How Ready Are You?
What is NATO and why was it created?
26. NATO (1948) and the
Warsaw Pact (1955)
• The Berlin situation led the Allies to form
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization). This was a defensive
alliance in case of attack on any member.
In response the Russians formed the
Warsaw Pact with all of its Satellite States.
28. How Ready Are You?
What is NATO and why was it created?
29. The Arms Race
• A major part of the cold war was the US and its
allies (Western bloc) engaging in a nuclear arms
race with the Soviet Union and its allies (Eastern
bloc). Both sides were racing to develop more
and better weapons and to keep up with the
other. Some believe that as long as both sides
had roughly equal power, MAD (mutually
assured destruction) would prevent war from
breaking out since it didn’t make sense for
anyone.
32. The Korean War (1950-1953)
The communist North invaded the democratic
South of Korea in 1950 supported by Soviet
build weapons. The UN sent a force to defend
South Korea and 32 countries led by the US and
including Canada fought to push the North
Koreans back. This showed that the UN was
willing to act to support world peace (unlike its
predecessor, the League of Nations which idly
stood by as Germany and Japan took over
places).
36. DEW Line (1954)
• In 1954, Canada and the US agreed to
build a line of radar stations in the arctic to
provide early warning of a possible Soviet
attack. The US paid for the line and for the
most part Canada administered it.
43. The Suez Crisis 1956
In 1956, Egyptian President Nasser seized the
Suez canal (a vital trade route) from Britain and
France. Britain and France joined with Israel to
attack Egypt. The Soviet Union sided with Egypt
and it started looking scary. Lester B. Pearson,
then Canada’s Minister of External Affairs
suggested the UN send a United Nations
Emergency Force to act as peacekeepers while
the two sides worked out a deal. This new idea
worked out so well that Lester B. Pearson
became the only Canadian so far to win the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.
47. NORAD
The North American
Aerospace Defense System
• Created between Canada and the US in
1957
• Fighter forces, missile bases and air
defense radar all controlled by a central
command station built deep inside a
mountain in Colorado. Always a nuclear
armed plane in the air.
• Significance: Shows the level of fear of the
nuclear war and Canadian US
cooperation.
51. AVRO ARROW
What was the AVRO ARROW and what
impact did it have on Canada US
relations?
52. AVRO Arrow (1953-1959)
• A supersonic long range jet to defend the
Northern Hemisphere developed by a Canadian
company from 1953-1959. Six planes were
completed and they were the fastest plane in the
world at the time but because of cost overruns
and American pressure, the Canadian gov’t
cancelled the contract and destroyed the
existing planes. This was a huge controversy as
it dealt a huge blow to the Canadian aerospace
industry and felt to many like a sell-out.
53.
54.
55.
56. AVRO ARROW
What was the AVRO ARROW and what
impact did it have on Canada US
relations?
64. BOMARC MISSILES
Why were the Bomarc Missiles
controversial and how was the
controversy resolved?
65. Bomarc Missiles 1963
• Instead of the Avro Arrow, Canadians
bought American Bomarc missiles for
defense. In 1963 PM John Diefenbaker
campaigned in the Federal election not to
allow the American’s to arm these missiles
with nuclear warheads. Lester B. Pearson,
the Liberal leader campaigned for the
opposite and narrowly won the election
meaning that Canada became a nuclear
power.
66.
67. BOMARC MISSILES
Why were the Bomarc Missiles
controversial and how was the
controversy resolved?
69. Vietnam War (1954-1975)
• A civil war between North Vietnam (communist) and
South Vietnam (anti-communist and partially
democratic). The US fought on behalf of the South to
contain communism. The Russians and Chinese
supplied the North but didn’t send troops. The US was
not doing well because of the North’s effective guerrilla
tactics. Eventually the US withdrew most of its troops
and tried to bomb the North into submission and when
this failed the US pulled out in 1973. By 1975 the North
had taken over all of Vietnam under communist rule.
70.
71.
72. Vietnam War and Canada
• This was the first “TV War.” Horrible images on the
evening news led to the US public turning against the
war which eventually forced them to pull out. This also
led to draft dodgers many of whom escaped conscription
to move to Canada which accepted them. Canada did
not participate in this war. In 1965 Canadian PM
Pearson actually criticized the US war in Vietnam and
was seriously berated by US president Johnson (see
page 145 in Counterpoints for a cartoon).
74. The End of the Cold War
During the 1970’s the tensions between
the superpowers relaxed. In 1979, the
Soviets invaded Afghanistan. They left in
1988 (unsuccessful) and from 1989-1991
communism in the Warsaw pact countries
collapsed because of economic
stagnation, too much military spending,
political corruption, loss of belief in
communism and increased nationalism.
75. PERSIAN GULF (IRAQ) WAR
What was the UN’s and Canada’s role in
the Persian Gulf War (I).
76. The Persian Gulf War (1990-1991)
• Iraqi president Sadam Hussein took over
Kuwait in 1990. The UN imposed
sanctions which failed. So, a multinational
force, led by the US, and including
Canada was sent by the UN and they
drove Saddam from Kuwait by early 1991.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81. PERSIAN GULF (IRAQ) WAR
What was the UN’s and Canada’s role in
the Persian Gulf War (I).
83. Yugoslavia 1991-1999
UN in Bosnia
• From 1992-1995 a civil war broke out over Bosnia and
the UN sent peacekeepers including Canadians. They
succeeded in getting Croatians to leave but not before
committing murder, rape and destruction.
84.
85.
86. NATO Bombing of Kosovo 1995
• In 1989, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic abolished
the Kosovo as an independent province within Serbia.
Over 90% of Kosovo were Kosovars and only 8% were
Serbian. After years of minor battles between the Serbs
and the Kosovars, the Serbs took over much of Kosovo
and displaced 300,000 Kosovars. By 1999 they
massacred an entire town and were set to continue with
their ethnic cleansing. NATO (including Canada using
our own CF -18’s) bombed Serbia (a UN member) into
submission and freed Kosovo and then handed the
situation over to the UN.
90. Somalia (1992)
900 soldiers from the Canadian Airborne
Regiment were sent to Somalia to keep
peace during a civil war. Some of these
soldiers beat and tortured a Somali
teenager to death and tried to cover it up
only to be caught. In the end the whole
regiment was disbanded and the event
brought shame on Canada
94. Rwanda 1994
• Historically, the Tutsi ethnic group ruled
brutally over the Hutu ethnic group (the
Belgian colonizers set it up so they had all
the power even though they made up only.
95.
96. Rwandan Genocide
• 15% of the population). When Rwanda gained
independence in 1960, Hutus won the election and
turned the tables leading to civil war. Ultimately, a small
group of Hutus used propaganda (mostly through radio)
and machetes to systematically murder 1,000,000 Tutsis
and moderate Hutus..
97. The UN in Rwanda
• The UN sent 3000 peacekeepers under Canadian
general Romeo Delaire. He could see the genocide
coming and asked for 2000 more men telling the UN
what would happen if he didn’t have a stronger force.
Instead after 10 Belgian peacekeepers were killed, the
force was cut to 500 This was an extreme failure of the
international community to protect innocent people. The
UN, the US, Belgium and the Anglican Church have
even apologized for their failure to stop the genocide in
Rwanda.
100. Land Mines
When wars end, often the terror continues because Anti-
personal land mines are left in the ground. They’re hard
to remove and over 100,000,000 are buried in former
war zones.
• In 1996, Canada hosted an international conference
which lead to the 1997 Anti-Personnel Land Mines
Treaty. 120 countries signed on to ban the use,
production, transfer and stockpiling of land mines. The
world’s biggest producers of land mines, the US, China
and Russia didn’t sign the treaty.
101.
102.
103.
104. 1945-2000
How Ready Are You?
1. To what extent has the UN been successful in
meeting its mandate?
2. Evaluate Canada’s contributions to the UN and
its record on Human rights.
3. To what extent was Canada’s relationship
with the US positive from 1945-2000?
105. Canadian Culture
1. To what extent was Canada’s
relationship with the US positive
from 1945-2000?
106. Canadian Culture
1951 – Massey Commission – found that Canadian
culture needed to be protected from the US
This led to
• The strengthening of the National Film Board (NFB
which produces Canadian documentaries)
• The creation of the Canada Council which funded
writers, artists and theatres
• The creation of CBC TV
• And later (1968) the creation of the CRTC (Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
which regulates the amount of foreign content on TV and
radio.
107. 29. What is the purpose of the United
Nations Security Council?
A. to offer disaster relief to all regions of
the world
B. to maintain peace and safety
throughout the world
C. to provide interest-free loans to
countries that have been affected by war
D. to ensure the health and well-being of
countries during the outbreak of disease
108. 30. What resulted from the creation of
NATO?
A. the creation of the United Nations
B. the establishment of the Warsaw Pact
C. a decrease in global military spending
D. a reduction of tension during the Cold
War
109. 31. Which of the following reflects Canada’s
attempt to establish independence from
the United States
during the post-war period?
A. establishing NORAD
B. joining the United Nations
C. becoming a member of NATO
D. creating the Massey Commission
110. 32. What was Canada’s solution to the Suez Crisis?
A. It suggested sending foreign aid to preserve the
peace.
B. It proposed the creation of an international
peacekeeping force.
C. It encouraged the combatants to take their
disagreements to the United Nations.
D. It recommended that international sanctions be
placed on the countries involved.
111. 36. To which conflict did Canada refuse to
send its military forces?
A. Gulf War
B. Yugoslavia
C. Korean War
D. Vietnam War
112. 30. Why was Canada viewed as a “middle
power” after World War Two?
A. It was a member of the Commonwealth.
B. Its nuclear weapon program was
developing.
C. Its economy was based on primary
resources.
D. It was becoming influential in
international affairs.
113. What two ideologies were in conflict during
the Cold War?
A. anarchy and socialism
B. democracy and fascism
C. communism and democracy
D. communism and totalitarianism
114. “Most Canadians favour American
shows.” Massey Commission, 1951
32. How did the Canadian government
respond to the commission’s findings?
A. The National Film Board was created.
B. CBC became the national television
station.
C. Tariffs were imposed on foreign
broadcasts.
D. Hockey Night in Canada was broadcast
live on radio.
115. “Our trip is called off…they’re only sending ‘peacekeeping units.’” 1956
36. To what conflict is the cartoon
referring?
A. Korean War
B. Vietnam War
C. Suez Canal Crisis
D. Cuban Missile Crisis
116. “Living next to you is in some ways like
sleeping with an elephant. No matter how
friendly and even-tempered the beast…one
is affected by every twitch and grunt.”
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
40. To what is this quotation referring?
A. American domination of NORAD
B. American economic influence in Canada
C. the elimination of the Avro Arrow project
D. the United States taking a lead role in
NATO
117. There are two battlefields today, one of war
and one of ideology. We do not convert
people to think our way by pouring bombs
upon them, day after day and week after
week. John Diefenbaker
37. Of which country’s wartime policy is
Diefenbaker critical?
A. Egypt
B. United States
C. East Germany
D. United Kingdom
