Canada’s New Light
Though wartime is often destructive and devastating, Canada has a tendency to emerge with a securer identity and a stronger unification as a nation. One of these moments was World War II, which consequently led to the creation of the United Nations. The United Nations was an organization created in 1945, composed by various countries around the world. Its initial purpose was to maintain international security and foster social co-operation. Joining the United Nations was a defining moment in Canadian history because it enabled Canada to reform international interactions by supporting the UN, develop a more asserted identity, and to establish Canada’s reputation to the world. Essentially, the United Nations allowed Canada …show more content…
In 1945, the United Nations (UN) was created to replace the League of Nations. In the study of Veatch in the Canadian Encyclopedia (2013), one of the core reasons that resulted the League of Nation’s failure was inactivity, the League remained ineffective without military contributions from the major countries. At this point of history, Canada’s foreign affairs were largely carried out by Liberal Prime Minister Mackenzie King. According to the study of Neatby about King in then Canadian Encyclopedia (2014), the Prime Minister’s major concern was not the peace of foreign countries, but rather Canada’s unity within the border and autonomy from Britain. It was decided decisively with a majority government that Canada was not prepared to make commitments of money and men to settle foreign disputes for the League of Nations. As a Canadian delegate said, “It was designed for keeping the peace, not keeping it” (Canada and the United …show more content…
The best way to demonstrate a characteristic is to act on it. Only action will prove ideals true, because ideals constantly change. As W.L. Mackenzie King said “Experience has shown that the contribution of smaller powers is not a negligible one” (Canada and the United Nations, 1945, p.10). Now, Canada has a new resolve to project Canadian values, such as fairness, equal opportunity and respect for human rights. Canada not only let its diplomat, John Humphrey participated in the drafting of the UN 's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Canada as an independent nation also quickly adopted the declaration in December of 1948. This determined Canada’s peaceful nature in the UN council. In addition, Canada actively provided foreign aids through the UN, in the hopes that it would lead to rapid development of the economy in other countries. According to the Canadian International Development Platform (2012), Canada hopes to provide .7% of their total Gross Domestic Product in foreign aid; and in 2012, Canada spent $5.67 billion, which spread amongst 80 nations across world. Through the UN, these values are put into action and create a personality unique to that of Canada.. In essence, the personality of Canada is short-term effect, because personality constantly changes. As of right now, Canada is doing less foreign aid and slowly pulling back
Though wartime is often destructive and devastating, Canada has a tendency to emerge with a securer identity and a stronger unification as a nation. One of these moments was World War II, which consequently led to the creation of the United Nations. The United Nations was an organization created in 1945, composed by various countries around the world. Its initial purpose was to maintain international security and foster social co-operation. Joining the United Nations was a defining moment in Canadian history because it enabled Canada to reform international interactions by supporting the UN, develop a more asserted identity, and to establish Canada’s reputation to the world. Essentially, the United Nations allowed Canada …show more content…
In 1945, the United Nations (UN) was created to replace the League of Nations. In the study of Veatch in the Canadian Encyclopedia (2013), one of the core reasons that resulted the League of Nation’s failure was inactivity, the League remained ineffective without military contributions from the major countries. At this point of history, Canada’s foreign affairs were largely carried out by Liberal Prime Minister Mackenzie King. According to the study of Neatby about King in then Canadian Encyclopedia (2014), the Prime Minister’s major concern was not the peace of foreign countries, but rather Canada’s unity within the border and autonomy from Britain. It was decided decisively with a majority government that Canada was not prepared to make commitments of money and men to settle foreign disputes for the League of Nations. As a Canadian delegate said, “It was designed for keeping the peace, not keeping it” (Canada and the United …show more content…
The best way to demonstrate a characteristic is to act on it. Only action will prove ideals true, because ideals constantly change. As W.L. Mackenzie King said “Experience has shown that the contribution of smaller powers is not a negligible one” (Canada and the United Nations, 1945, p.10). Now, Canada has a new resolve to project Canadian values, such as fairness, equal opportunity and respect for human rights. Canada not only let its diplomat, John Humphrey participated in the drafting of the UN 's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Canada as an independent nation also quickly adopted the declaration in December of 1948. This determined Canada’s peaceful nature in the UN council. In addition, Canada actively provided foreign aids through the UN, in the hopes that it would lead to rapid development of the economy in other countries. According to the Canadian International Development Platform (2012), Canada hopes to provide .7% of their total Gross Domestic Product in foreign aid; and in 2012, Canada spent $5.67 billion, which spread amongst 80 nations across world. Through the UN, these values are put into action and create a personality unique to that of Canada.. In essence, the personality of Canada is short-term effect, because personality constantly changes. As of right now, Canada is doing less foreign aid and slowly pulling back