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4. The End of the Golden Age
From Canadian History Portal - HCO
| B. Canada Comes of Age - 1945-1963 → 1. A Time of Transition → 2. Liberal Consensus → 3. The Chief: Canada and Diefenbaker → 4. End of the Golden Age →→ C. New Identities - 1963-1984 |
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Contents |
Canada and the Western Alliance
During the first few years of the Conservative interlude, Canada’s foreign relations ran much the same as they had during the first decade of the Cold War. But in the early 1960s, Diefenbaker's foreign policy began to lose direction. This was partly due to the Chief himself, but also to the international and domestic conditions during his time as Canadian leader. The so-called ‘liberal consensus’ within Canada was breaking down, and many people began to question the nature of Canada’s involvement in the Cold War.
Other factors were at work as well. Canada’s stable position within the western alliance had been shaken by changes in British and American policy. Other major countries had recovered from the war and returned to international positions of prominence, reducing Canada's clout on the world stage. Beginning in the late 1950s, the Soviet Union began to again more actively pressure the west, particularly in Berlin and Cuba.
On the other hand, Diefenbaker often eschewed the “Quiet Diplomacy” that had characterized St. Laurent’s government. Although he hoped to improve the British connection, Canadian relations with both London and Washington had diminished by the end of the Diefenbaker era. Along with Howard Green (Minister for External Affairs from 1959-1963), the Prime Minister, was a proponent of disarmament. However, this meant that Diefenbaker at times attempted to follow contradictory positions: a commitment to armed forces to resist the Soviets versus a desire to disarm and reduce the risk of nuclear war.
Nuclear Missiles for Canada?
In 1957, Canada committed to purchasing BOMARC missiles from the United States, and 56 missiles were deployed at North Bay, Ontario, and La Macaza, Québec, from 1961 to 1972 under the control of the commander in chief, NORAD, the new North American Air Defence Command. However, the BOMARC-B version required nuclear warheads to be operational. In theory, Canadian forces already had access to nuclear weapons in Europe, although they were controlled by the U.S. and required their permission to use. Diefenbaker would not commit to purchasing the warheads for the BOMARCs, despite appearing to do at times. By 1963, this became a full-blown controversy.
Diefenbaker’s indecisiveness on the issue sorely tested American patience. Indecision over the nuclear warheads also divided the Progressive Conservative cabinet, and several Cabinet Ministers resigned in 1963, including the Minister of Defence. The Liberals played the opportunist, as their new leader Lester Pearson pledged to acquire the weapons if elected, after previously speaking out against them.
Nuclear weapons were one of the most controversial issues during Diefenbaker’s tenure. The public was undecided about their use by Canada – between 50% to 60% supported purchasing the warheads – and so was Diefenbaker. Diefenbaker’s failure to decide on this issue ultimately contributed to his defeat as Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, other technological advances changed the Cold War landscape. Hydrogen bombs – many times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan – were unveiled in the 1950s by both sides. In 1957, the U.S.S.R. launched the space race by sending the first satellite, Sputnik I, into space. The U.S. followed, and Canada became the third country in space with the successful launch of the Alouette I satellite on September 29, 1961.
NATO and Warsaw Pact countries began creating ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles), capable of carrying a hydrogen warhead across the Atlantic Ocean in less than half an hour. The colossal expense – and some said, colossal insanity - continued into the 1960s, as both sides relied on a theory known as Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). All this contributed to the growing fear in the United States that there was a ‘missile gap’ and future President John F. Kennedy campaigned on a platform of closing this gap in 1960. However, this gap would prove to be illusory and Diefenbaker would become wary of what he perceived to be the President’s brinkmanship.
Diefenbaker and the Commonwealth
Diefenbaker advocated a return to stronger Commonwealth ties for Canada. However, the importance of the Commonwealth was already on the decline. Several issues that arose while Diefenbaker was in office further reduced the relevance of the Commonwealth. Although the Prime Minister sought to strengthen British-Canadian bonds, relations with Britain relations were in a worse state when he left office. During his first year as Prime Minister, Diefenbaker made an inadvertent remark that Canada should divert 15% of its trade from the United States to Great Britain. London took Diefenbaker at his word. Suffering from poor economic and trade, the British approached the Canadians with a free trade offer. However, the Conservative government was not particularly interested, as they worried about the repercussions at the ballot box in 1958.
To improve their economic footing, Britain attempted to enter the European Common Market. This was not supported by the Canadian government, causing further friction. Due to France’s resistance, Britain would not join the Common Market until 1973. Harold Macmillan, the British Prime Minister, was also at odds with Diefenbaker over the re-admittance of South Africa to the Commonwealth. Diefenbaker admirably took a stand against South African membership due to their apartheid policy. Britain stood to gain economically if South Africa remained in the Commonwealth, and supported the country’s readmittance. Both the Common Market and South African issues hurt British-Canadian relations.
Aid and Trade
The Canadian government continued to devote resources to peacekeeping and foreign aid. In 1960 the government created External Aid Office was created to better assist other nations. In particular, African countries were on the receiving end of Canadian aid – decolonization swept across the globe in the 1950s and 1960s, making former colonies independent. Canada was one of the first to extend relations to these former colonies. In 1960, Canada joined in a UN peacekeeping force sent to the former Belgian Congo (Zaire).
Continental Defence
Canada and the United States were the only members of NORAD, but there were worries that Canada emerged very much as ‘the junior partner’ in the organization given the fact that the United States paid the great majority of the organization’s expenses, provided the bulk of its personnel, and due to the fact that the headquarters was in Colorado Springs in the United States.
NORAD would be a prominent issue during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The organization continues to this day, although the title was changed to North American Aerospace Defence Command. The Defence Production Sharing Agreements between the two North American countries further coordinated continental defence and benefited Canadian industries.
The Avro Arrow
- Some people talk about courage. Well, we took a stand in reference to the 'Arrow.' No one wanted to take that stand.... As I look back on it, I think it was one of the decisions that was right. Here was an instrument beautiful in appearance, powerful, a tribute to Canadian production.... This instrument that was otherwise beautiful, magnificent in its concept, would have contributed little, in the changing order of things, to our national defence.
- John G. Diefenbaker, January 25, 1963, House of Commons
John Diefenbaker’s most controversial decision was his cancellation of the Avro Arrow project. The CF-105, designed and built in Malton, Ontario by the A.V. Roe Company, was a state-of-the-art supersonic fighter. Construction began as early as 1949, and it would prove to be the world’s most advanced jet. However, the Arrow cost much more to build than originally estimated - $12.5 million rather than $2 million. The government decided to order only 100 of the Arrows, instead of the originally anticipated 600.
Neither the U.K. nor the U.S. would agree purchase the jets. The Arrow was designed to intercept enemy aircraft. But the development of ICBMs meant that fighter jets had lost much of their utility. Missiles, such as BOMARCs were now favoured. Thus, the decision to cancel the program had been made for all intents and purposes during the St. Laurent government. In 1959, Diefenbaker cancelled the project he had inherited from the Liberals, putting almost 15,000 workers out of work. All of the plans, prototypes, and parts were also destroyed, which particularly irked aviation people.
Although experts generally agree cancellation was the correction decision, it proved to be an unpopular one. People began to turn on the Conservatives. Some of those who lost their jobs when the Arrow project was cancelled went to work for NASA, the American space agency, and played a key role in the Apollo project to put a man on the moon.
The decision also led to complaints that Canada had lost its opportunity to be a world leader in aerospace development, whether or not this was realistic. People also point to this as an example of the ‘brain drain’: skilled people leaving Canada to work in the United States.
Sidelight: First Flight of the Arrow On October 4, 1957, the first prototype Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was rolled out at A. V. Roe's Malton plant and presented to the media.
Avro started designing the plane in 1953. Its role was to protect Canada from new Soviet long range bombers, that were capable of flying over the North Pole to attack North America. Its role was to replace the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck, a sub mach aircraft, as a supersonic all weather interceptor.  The Arrow was a source of national pride, incorporating advanced technical innovations. It was the first plane capable of flying by wire, and capable of MACH 2+, with computer control and integral missile system. The Arrow was the most advanced fighter in the world at that time, with a top speed of 1,650 mph (2,640 kph). Flight Magazine called it "the biggest, most powerful, most expensive and potentially the fastest fighter that the world has yet seen." Built by head designer James Floyd and his team of aeronautical scientists, the plane was flown by test pilot Janusz Zurakowski on March 25, 1958. The Arrow weapons platform along with the Iroquois engine was cancelled by the Conservative Diefenbaker government February 20, 1959, less then 3 weeks before the MK2 Arrow was to take flight. The government replaced the Arrow with Bomarc anti-aircraft missiles, which soon were obsolete themselves. The five existing examples of this triumph of Canadian engineering were destroyed. All this stirred up such controversy that it remains a subject of passionate debate in the country more than 40 years later. The cancellation of the Arrow was a major blow to the Canadian defence industry, but the project was probably neither militarily nor economically viable, and its demise was inevitable. Some experts also feel that Avro's failure to enter into serial production of the Avro Jetliner probably had a more lasting impact on Canadian aviation. While historian J.L. Granatstein's argues that "The Chiefs of Staff killed it because it cost too much," some engineers argue that about 70% of the total cost of the Arrow program had already been spent and that it would have been more justifiable economically to proceed. But Canada was in a recession and the Arrow had become the most expensive single defense project the country had ever taken on. The Canadian Army and Navy were reluctant to sacrifice their own programs to support the aircraft.  |
Europe and Berlin
Canada continued to build up its forces in Europe as part of the NATO alliance. The majority of its forces were stationed in West Germany, the frontlines of the Cold War. Berlin was the central pivot on which the Cold War turned, and the Soviets continually tried to force the western countries out of their occupation rights in West Berlin. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev gave an ultimatum for the west to leave Berlin in 1958, but eventually backed down.
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In August 1961, the Berlin Wall was built, creating a large crisis. Diefenbaker soon responded with a commitment to the western military alliance, including an increase in Canada’s NATO forces, which was now at its historical peak, while showing a willingness to negotiate. This was a very effective and constructive response. While the 1961 Berlin Wall Crisis had the potential to explode into full-blown conflict on several occasions, it eventually petered out. The Berlin Wall was built to keep people in communist East Germany, rather than keep people out – from the western point of view, therefore, it was an admission of the weakness of Communism.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
In October 1962, Canadians and people everywhere held their collective breaths as the world stepped to the edge of nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis would turn out to be the closest the superpowers came to using their nuclear weapons, and the resolution of the crisis ushered in a period of more peaceful relations.
In an attempt to again force the West out of Berlin, and to score a political and strategic coup, the Soviets began providing Cuba with military aid in 1962. Fidel Castro had come to power in Cuba through a coup in 1959, and by 1960 was following a communist line. The U.S. was, as would be expected, not pleased with a communist Cuba on its doorstep. In October, American reconnaissance planes spotted nuclear missile sites in Cuba. The missile installations were not yet finished, but they would actually be operational before the conflict ended. These missiles would have the capability to hit almost every major city in both the United States and Canada. (show the picture showing the range of missiles)
Diefenbaker hesitated to issue a command to increase the state of readiness of the Canadian armed forces. There was concern that Kennedy’s actions were belligerent and unnecessary and threatened to provoke the Soviet. Two days later, on October 24, Diefenbaker reluctantly authorized that the Canadian forces be put on higher alert. However, Canada’ forces had previously moved to Defcon 3, as Minister of Defence Douglas Harkness had already quietly authorized the alert without Diefenbaker’s knowledge.
During the early days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Diefenbaker had proposed in the House of Commons a United Nations force investigate the Cuban missiles. However, the United States interpreted this as a suggestion that their assessment of the situation was not valid. The entire crisis marked a major falling out between the Canadian Prime Minister and the American President. Nor was Diefenbaker’s hesitation popular with many Canadians – as had been the case during the Suez Crisis, the majority of Canadians believed Canada should have more clearly supported its ally. Opinion is still divided as to whether Kennedy was acting rashly, or whether Canada should have immediately responded to its ally’s request.
Sidelight: The Diefenbunker In an attempt to allow the government to keep functioning in the event of a nuclear war, the Canadian government constructed a gigantic shelter from 1956-1961. Nicknamed the 'Diefenbunker', the four-story fortress was built inside a hill located just outside of Ottawa to house high-ranking government officials. Now operating as museum, tt included a CBC broadcasting station, an operating room, living and office quarters, and a Bank of Canada vault intended to hold Canada's gold reserves. Located near Carp, Ont., the Diefenbunker was once known as the Central Emergency Government Headquarters, but it is known today as Canada's Cold War Museum. The building is a four-level, 9,300-square-metre subterranean base covered by a thick blanket of topsoil. It was designed to provide protection for about 565 people for one month, without resupply.  The Diefenbunker, which became operational in 1962, was built to allow the prime minister, governor general, 12 members of the war cabinet, the head of the CBC, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and about 550 other people to head to nearby Carp and keep the country from falling into anarchy. The program also inclluded regional headquarters in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. There were also provincial bunkers and hundreds of public and private fallout shelters, as well as:
 The Carp facility was designed to survive a five-megaton ground detonation about 1.8 kilometres away - about 300 times stronger than Little Boy, the atomic bomb used at Hiroshima. Construction of the Diefenbunker lasted two years and employed up to 1,000 workers. It contains more than 32,000 tonnes of concrete and 5,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel, including rebar up to 6.5 centimetres thick. The final price tag was $20 million, or roughly $110 million in today's dollars. The bunker's long access tunnel was used as a backdrop in the 2002 movie The Sum of All Fears, an action thriller starring Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman. The bunker had its own medical facility, which included X-ray equipment and a three-bed hospital, a dentist's office, a cafeteria, a canteen and a garage to house a small helicopter, a bulldozer and 60,000 litres of diesel fuel. There was also a ham-radio room, since amateur radio enthusiasts were expected to play a key role in cross-country communications after any nuclear attack. A room dedicated to this hobby is now being created. |
The End of the Interlude
The missile issue split Canadian public opinion, and the Progressive Conservative Cabinet. Several members of the government, including Defence Minister Harkness, resigned. Diefenbaker was on his way out. He returned with only a minority government in the 1962 election. During the May 1962 election campaign, the International Monetary Fund forced Canada to reduce its dollar to 92.5 cents American. Referred to as the “Diefenbuck,” it almost cost the Conservatives election.
By 1963, the Diefenbaker government was on its last legs. Unfairly or not, Canadians were displeased with a number of foreign affairs issues: the Avro Arrow, nuclear weapons, and the state of Canada’s relationships with the U.S. and U.K. But international affairs were not the only matters that concerned voters. Diefenbaker’s fractured command of the French language coupled with his refusal to select a Quebec cabinet minister guaranteed that he would do considerably worse in ‘la belle province’ in the next election. He was losing support on the left of the political spectrum to the New Democratic Party. The economy was not performing as strongly as Canadians had become accustomed to in recent years. The thousands of jobs the Conservatives had promised had failed to materialize. They were ripe for the picking. The Liberals obliged them as their February 1963 motions of non-confidence passed 142-111 in the House of Commons, and an election was called. On April 8, the fourth election in six years brought the Liberals back into office, five seats short of an absolute majority, with a different leader, Lester Pearson.
| 4. The End of the Golden Age - Gallery | Stories & Texts | Web Links | Student Activities | Student Projects |
| B. Canada Comes of Age - 1945-1963 → 1. A Time of Transition → 2. Liberal Consensus → 3. The Chief: Canada and Diefenbaker → 4. End of the Golden Age →→ C. New Identities - 1963-1984 |
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