page_title: Canada in the Cold War
section_title: Early Cold War (1946–1960)
hierarchical_section_title: Canada in the Cold War / Early Cold War (1946–1960)
caption_attribution_description: DEW line map
context_page_description: Canada in the Cold War was one of the western powers playing a central role in the major alliances. It was an ally of the United States, but there were several foreign policy differences between the two countries over the course of the Cold War.
  Canada was a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949, the North American Aerospace Defence Command in 1958 and played a leading role in United Nations peacekeeping operations – from the Korean War to the creation of a permanent UN peacekeeping force during the Suez Crisis in 1956. Subsequent peacekeeping interventions occurred in the Congo, Cyprus, the Sinai, Vietnam, Golan Heights, Lebanon, and Namibia.
  Canada did not follow the American lead in all Cold War actions, sometimes leading to tensions. Canada refused to join the Vietnam War and in 1984 the last nuclear weapons based in Canada were removed. Relations were maintained with Cuba and the Canadian government recognized the People's Republic of China before the United States.
context_section_description: In February 1946, the Canadian government disclosed to the public the defection of a Soviet cipher clerk, Igor Gouzenko, in Ottawa; who also disclosed the existence of a Soviet spy ring in the country. The event has been used by historians to mark the beginning of the Cold War era in Canada, with the Gouzenko affair triggering another red scare in Canada. 
  Canada was a founding member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), of which Prime Minister St. Laurent was a chief architect.  Canada was one of its most ardent supporters and pushed (largely unsuccessfully) to have it become an economic and cultural organization in addition to a military alliance.
  To defend North America against a possible enemy attack, Canada and the United States began to work very closely together in the 1950s. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) created a joint air-defense system.  In northern Canada, the Distant Early Warning Line (Dew Line) was established to give warning of Soviet bombers heading over the north pole. Similar early warning radar systems were also developed in the middle of Canada, known as the Mid-Canada Line; and across the 50th parallel north, known as the Pinetree Line.
caption: A map depicting the location for the Dew Line, the Mid-Canada Line, and the Pinetree Line, a series of early warning radar systems developed in the 1950s.
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