Cold War | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Browse "Cold War"

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  • Article

    Avro CF-100 Canuck

    The CF-100 Canuck, manufactured by A.V. Roe Canada (Avro), was the first jet fighter designed and built entirely in Canada. It flew in front-line air defence from 1953 until the early 1960s.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/3a0a9f3f-2007-4508-9859-461204bba5f2.jpg Avro CF-100 Canuck

  • Article

    Bomarc Missile Crisis

    The CIM-10B Bomarc was the world’s first long-range, nuclear capable, ground-to-air anti-aircraft missile. Two squadrons of the missile were purchased and deployed by the Canadian government in 1958. This was part of Canada’s role during the Cold War to defend North America against an attack from the Soviet Union. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s refusal to equip the missiles with nuclear warheads led to a souring of Canada’s relationship with the United States, especially once the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the issue to the fore. The issue split Diefenbaker’s Cabinet and contributed to his party losing the 1963 election.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/fe8757c3-dd58-4969-92f1-316d16aa4e6c.jpg Bomarc Missile Crisis

  • Article

    Canada and Antisubmarine Warfare during the Cold War

    During the Cold War, the Canadian Navy played a crucial role in antisubmarine warfare (ASW), working closely with its allies to patrol and monitor the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for Soviet submarine activity. Canada invested in new technology and continually modernized its fleet of ships and aircraft to better detect and counter Soviet submarines. It also operated strategic warning systems with its allies, particularly the United States. By the end of the Cold War, Canada had developed a very high reputation in the field.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/9f869e07-d522-4293-927d-787f3be65104.jpg Canada and Antisubmarine Warfare during the Cold War

  • Article

    Canada and Gas Warfare

    Poison gas was used throughout the First World War by almost all armies. Its widespread use was unique in the history of warfare. The various types of gas, delivered by canisters, projectors, or shell, killed, maimed, and wore down morale. By 1918, soldiers of all armies encountered gas frequently while serving at the Western Front. Canadian soldiers were among the first to face the death clouds, at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915. At least 11,572 Canadian soldiers were casualties of poison gas, yet many were denied pensions after the war. During the Second World War, chemical weapons were not used on the battlefield; however, the Suffield Experimental Station in Alberta developed and tested chemical and biological weapons beginning in 1941. From about the middle of the 20th century, Canadian officials worked on the global stage to ban chemical weapons, and in the 1990s, Canada signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (see Arms Control and Disarmament.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/GasWarfare/a002897-v8.jpg Canada and Gas Warfare

  • Article

    Canada and SOSUS

    The Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) was a network of passive sonar stations established by the United States Navy (USN) in the early 1950s to “listen” for Soviet submarines. SOSUS was a core element of antisubmarine warfare (ASW) during the Cold War. It developed out of intense postwar oceanographic research into how sound is propagated under water. Given Canada’s shared responsibility for the defence of North America, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was actively engaged in this research and mission and helped operate SOSUS. The mission was highly classified throughout the Cold War and only declassified in 1991. SOSUS became part of the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS), a broader network of fixed and towed sensors that remains operational. 

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/ASW/Atlantic Canada w-markers_EN Final.jpg Canada and SOSUS

  • Article

    Canada and the Cold War (Plain Language Summary)

    During the Cold War, most of the world was divided into two camps. The "West" was led by the US and the "East" was led by the Soviet Union. Canada sided with the West. The Cold War started after the Second World War. It ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. There was no direct or "hot" war between the two superpowers. But tensions were high, and people were afraid of nuclear war. Some smaller wars were fought, like the Korean War. (This article is a plain-language summary of the Cold War. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Canada and the Cold War.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/CubanMissileCrisis/7322067464_e858ddfc17_z.jpg Canada and the Cold War (Plain Language Summary)

  • Article

    Canada and Weapons of Mass Destruction

    Canada has a long, complicated history with weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Canadian soldiers have been attacked with chemical weapons and have used them offensively. (See Canada and Gas Warfare.) Canada has researched chemical, biological and nuclear weapons; but also, ways to defend against them. Some chemical weapons were tested in Canada and against Canadians with long-term consequences. Canada played a crucial role in the development of nuclear weapons. (See Canada and the Manhattan Project.) The country employed nuclear weapons primarily as defensive weapons during the Cold War. Canada signed international documents limiting the use of these weapons. Canada no longer has weapons of mass destruction. However, Canada is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and NORAD — alliances that employ nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

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  • Article

    Canadian Forces in Europe During the Cold War

    During the Cold War, Canada stationed army and air force units abroad for the first time during peacetime. Soldiers and airmen began to arrive in the early 1950s, shortly after the Cold War began, and remained until 1993, after it ended. In total, more than 100,000 Canadian military personnel served in France and West Germany in that period.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/e011169341-v8.jpg Canadian Forces in Europe During the Cold War

  • Article

    Canada and the Cold War

    The Cold War refers to the period between the end of the Second World War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. During this time, the world was largely divided into two ideological camps — the United States-led capitalist “West” and the Soviet-dominated communist “East.” Canada aligned with the West. Its government structure, politics, society and popular perspectives matched those in the US, Britain, and other democratic countries. The global US-Soviet struggle took many different forms and touched many areas. It never became “hot” through direct military confrontation between the two main antagonists.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/CubanMissileCrisis/7322067464_e858ddfc17_z.jpg Canada and the Cold War

  • Article

    Exercise Tocsin B

    Exercise Tocsin B was a nationwide nuclear preparedness drill that lasted 24 hours between 13 and 14 November 1961. It was the last of three national survival exercises named Tocsin in 1960–61. It was also the largest and most widely publicized civil defence drill ever held in Canada. This Cold War exercise run by the Canadian Army simulated the impact of thermonuclear warfare in Canada. Its goals were to show how the state would warn Canadians of such an attack and how government would continue during the crisis. By raising popular awareness of the potential for a devastating nuclear attack, Tocsin B showed Canadians what was at stake in the Cold War.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/ExerciseTocsinB/EMO_excerpt.JPG Exercise Tocsin B

  • Memory Project Archive

    Leon Katz (Primary Source)

    "By the time I arrived in Bad Oeynhausen these laws were already in place or being put in place and I was assigned to implement and control and manage several of these laws." See below for Mr. Katz's entire testimony. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/MemoryProject/LeonKatz/15900_538.jpg Leon Katz (Primary Source)

  • Memory Project Archive

    Sandford Tuey (Primary Source)

    Interview with Sandford Tuey.Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/The-Memory-Project/image/15251_600.jpg Sandford Tuey (Primary Source)

  • Article

    NORAD

    The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was a pact made in 1957, at the height of the Cold War. It placed under joint command the air forces of Canada and the United States. Its name was changed in 1981 to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, but it kept the NORAD acronym. Canada and the US renewed NORAD in 2006, making the arrangement permanent. It is subject to review every four years, or at the request of either country. NORAD’s mission was also expanded into maritime warnings. The naval forces of the two countries remain under separate commands.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/efca000f-abb8-4a6f-881e-e39e4ee2882f.jpg NORAD

  • Article

    Royal Canadian Naval Air Branch

    The Royal Canadian Naval Air Branch was established in 1945 and disbanded upon unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968. During that period, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) operated a succession of three aircraft carriers: HMC Ships Warrior, Magnificent and Bonaventure. The ability to exercise air power at sea was fundamental to the RCN’s core role of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) against the Cold War Soviet submarine fleet. As the nature of that threat evolved, the RCN Air Branch underwent a nearly continuous process of adaptation to incorporate new equipment and tactics, with increasingly higher performance aircraft and supporting equipment.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/RCNAirBranch/Bonaventure_-_Banshees.jpg Royal Canadian Naval Air Branch

  • Article

    The Royal Canadian Dragoons

    The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior of three regular armoured regiments in the Canadian Army. The regiment was established in 1883 as a cavalry unit. Since then, it has served in major conflicts at home and overseas, including the North-West Rebellion, Boer War, First and Second World Wars and, more recently, the war in Afghanistan. The Dragoons have also served in peace operations in Egypt, Cyprus, Somalia and the Balkans. The regiment has been based at CFB Petawawa, Ontario, since 1987. It is currently part of 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, 4th Canadian Division. A detached squadron serves at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Dragoons/Dragoons_1891.jpg The Royal Canadian Dragoons