page_title: Canada in the Cold War
section_title: Post-Cold War
hierarchical_section_title: Canada in the Cold War / Post-Cold War
caption_attribution_description: CFB Baden Söllingen, 19 January 1993. The end of the Cold War. The Tiger Hornet (188764) of 439 squadron taxies out of its hardened aircraft shelter for the last time. 24 CF-18's returned to Canada on this day - and what a horrible, dark day it was. All other local squadrons had left already. The base closed on 31 March 1993 and 439 squadron was disbanded in May.
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context_section_description: When the Cold War ended, Canadian Forces were withdrawn from their NATO commitments in Germany, military spending was cut, and air raid sirens were removed across the country. The Diefenbunkers, Canada's military-operated fallout shelters designed to ensure continuity of government, were decommissioned. In 1994, the last active United States military base in Canada, Naval Station Argentia Newfoundland, was decommissioned and the facility was turned over to the Government of Canada. The base was a storage facility for the Mk 101 Lulu and B57 nuclear bombs and a key node in the US Navy's SOSUS network to detect Soviet nuclear submarines. Canada continues to participate in Cold War institutions such as NORAD and NATO, but they have been given new missions and priorities.
  The Cold War in Canada came to an end during the period 1990–1995 as the traditional mission to contain Soviet expansion faded into the new realities of warfare. The Cold War required permanent foreign deployments to Western Europe, something which was no longer necessary, and as such bases closed down. Less equipment was needed, and so much was sold off, soon to be replaced by newer equipment designed for future conflicts. At home, bases were closed and operations consolidated and streamlined for maximum efficiency, as by the early 1990s many Canadians were openly questioning the necessity of large defence budgets.
  In 1990, Canadian troops were deployed to assist provincial police in Québec in an effort to defuse tensions between Mohawk Warriors and the Sureté du Québec and local residents. In 1991 Canadian Forces personnel deployed in support of the American liberation of Kuwait. By 1992, Canadian peacekeepers were deployed to Cambodia, Croatia and Somalia. In 1993 Balkan involvement expanded into Bosnia and Canadian troops participated in some of the fiercest combat since the Korean War during Operation Medak Pocket.
  By the end of the 1990s, Canada would have a completely different military, one more inclined towards the rigours of peacekeeping and peace-making operations under multi-national coalitions. The country would be further involved in the Yugoslav Wars throughout the rest of the decade, would become involved in Haiti, and would further see action again in Zaire and East Timor. The Navy, by decade's end (and prior to the modern post-9/11 era), was comparatively brand new, the Air Force well-balanced and modern as well. The Army began to acquire new equipment, such as the LAV-III, Bison APC and the Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle as it transitioned to fighting irregular warfare instead of the large tank battles once feared would rage across Western Europe. It is with Canada's late-Cold War and early-Peacekeeping Era military that Canada would embark on its deployment to Afghanistan, currently Canada's longest-running war.
caption: A CF-18 Hornet at CFB Baden–Soellingen, shortly before the airbase's closure in 1993. The end of the Cold War saw the withdrawal of Canadian military formations in Europe.
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