Canada and the Cold War

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The Cold War was a period of tension between the USSR and the US; although at one point the Soviet Union and the United States were allies due to the enemy they had in common, Nazi Germany. The Cold War was not an actual physical war, only the Korean War was the physical war. This time of tension started due to distrust between the two nations. Canada as a founding member of NATO played a significant role in the Cold War, and contributed greatly during the period of tension. As well as NATO, Canada was also heavily involved in many other aspects of the Cold War such as NORAD, the Korean War, and the Gouzenko case.

Canada was influential in the development of NATO; it had been a member of NATO since it was founded in 1949. The purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was to unify the western allies and strengthen the military as a reaction to a possible threat from the Soviet Union and its allies. In 1949 many countries signed a contract to be part of the organization including: Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, United States, Canada, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Portugal.² Canada gained benefits from being part of NATO such as the ability to have a say in alliance policy, and now Canada would be able to “deal with the US on a multilateral context.” ¹ NATO also provided safety for Canada from the potential aggression of the Soviet Union. Canada’s armed forces were the most engaged, and active responsive armed forces within NATO. Canada’s priority in NATO was to ensure that all allies remain modern and are able to face the threats during the time period.

Canada was not just a member of NATO only, but it was also part of NORAD. NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defence Command. It is a USA-Can...

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...y in many ways; this includes being part of NORAD, NATO and the Korean War. The Cold War was only a period of tension between the US and the USSR due to trust issues between the two nations. The US and the USSR were allies at one point during World War 2. Therefore it was called the Cold War due to the tension.

Works Cited

Historica Canada. Cold War. Accessed December 16, 2013. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/education/008-119.01-e.php?item_id_nbr=48

cbc. Cold war canada. 2001: cbc Accessed December 16, 2013. http://www.cbc.ca/history/SECTIONSE1EP15CH1LE.html

dfait-maeci. Canada and the Cold War. Accessed December 16, 2013. http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/bkhan/canadian_history_11/Assignments/canada_and_the_cold_war1.html.

The Canadian Encyclopedia. Cold War. Accessed December 16, 2013. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/cold-war/.

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