In 1946, Canada gave political asylum to Igor Gouzenko, a soviet sipher clerk responsible for stealing 109 documents, which proved soviet spies were operating in Canada and the United States. Gouzenko’s actions arguably began this period of tension between the Americas and the Soviet Union, now known as the Cold War. When Canada accepted Gouzenko’s claims against the Soviet’s as reality, we launched ourselves into the Cold War. Although the majority of the conflict was between the United States and the Soviet Union, Canada became involved through participation in the Korean War, the Suez Canal crisis as well as the United Nation’s (UN) peace promotion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In addition to that, Canada was unexpectedly
…show more content…
The fear of communism spread rapidly throughout the nation, and extreme measures were taken. Anyone suspected of possibly communist sympathies was immediately detained and taken into custody for questioning. One of these individuals was Herbert Norman, a government official involved in secret intelligence. After months of suspicion and questioning, he committed suicide, leaving behind four notes, one of which included the claim “Illusion has been my besting weakness, naiveté my chief flaw. I thought innocence against any act against security was enough- how naïve!” Though many argue that he was innocent of the claims against him, it is generally agreed upon that it was indeed naïve for someone with a communist background such as his to remain in Secret Intelligence. And Norman is but one of the many individuals who suffered, “[the communist investigations] left a trail of destroyed careers and ruined lives” as one could not recover in society after being accused of communism, the most feared thing at the time. Due to the Padlock Law initiated by Maurice Duplessis in 1937, an extreme number of buildings and organizations were shut down in Quebec due to suspicions of possible communist …show more content…
Canada’s foreign policy has always been focused primarily around peacekeeping and anti-authoritarianism. “The idea that Canada always fights on the side of democracy and freedom remains a source of great patriotic pride.” Our firm beliefs on standing up against dictatorship is what lead Canada into the Korean War in 1950, leading to our greater involvement in the tension of the Cold War as well as Canada’s leadership in the creation of NATO. “Many Canadians believe non-militaristic techniques like peacekeeping and multilateralism form the proper Canadian style of foreign policy.” Another theme within that foreign policy is in promoting Canadian independence, and Canada has implemented high profile shows of independence when dealing with foreign affairs, refusing to be seen as anyone’s automatic ally. “As the Cold War began to unfold, Canada began to chart an increasingly independent course.” On the contrary, America’s foreign policy “seeks to assume America’s security and defense.” The foreign policy of The United States tends to be focused inwards, especially after World War One, following refusal into the League of Nations. During the Cold War however, America’s foreign policy centered almost solely on the containment of the Soviet Union as well as communism, which brought the nation into the
The fear of communism spread rapidly throughout the nation, and extreme measures were taken. Anyone suspected of possibly communist sympathies was immediately detained and taken into custody for questioning. One of these individuals was Herbert Norman, a government official involved in secret intelligence. After months of suspicion and questioning, he committed suicide, leaving behind four notes, one of which included the claim “Illusion has been my besting weakness, naiveté my chief flaw. I thought innocence against any act against security was enough- how naïve!” Though many argue that he was innocent of the claims against him, it is generally agreed upon that it was indeed naïve for someone with a communist background such as his to remain in Secret Intelligence. And Norman is but one of the many individuals who suffered, “[the communist investigations] left a trail of destroyed careers and ruined lives” as one could not recover in society after being accused of communism, the most feared thing at the time. Due to the Padlock Law initiated by Maurice Duplessis in 1937, an extreme number of buildings and organizations were shut down in Quebec due to suspicions of possible communist …show more content…
Canada’s foreign policy has always been focused primarily around peacekeeping and anti-authoritarianism. “The idea that Canada always fights on the side of democracy and freedom remains a source of great patriotic pride.” Our firm beliefs on standing up against dictatorship is what lead Canada into the Korean War in 1950, leading to our greater involvement in the tension of the Cold War as well as Canada’s leadership in the creation of NATO. “Many Canadians believe non-militaristic techniques like peacekeeping and multilateralism form the proper Canadian style of foreign policy.” Another theme within that foreign policy is in promoting Canadian independence, and Canada has implemented high profile shows of independence when dealing with foreign affairs, refusing to be seen as anyone’s automatic ally. “As the Cold War began to unfold, Canada began to chart an increasingly independent course.” On the contrary, America’s foreign policy “seeks to assume America’s security and defense.” The foreign policy of The United States tends to be focused inwards, especially after World War One, following refusal into the League of Nations. During the Cold War however, America’s foreign policy centered almost solely on the containment of the Soviet Union as well as communism, which brought the nation into the